Djokovic vs. Berrettini Career Stats and Prediction for 2021 Men’s Final

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Novak Djokovic‘s quest to win his 20th-career major title and the season-long Grand Slam runs through Matteo Berrettini on Sunday.

The 2021 Australian Open and French Open champion is one win away from tying Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on top of the all-time major championship table. 

Djokovic should be the overwhelming favorite to capture the Wimbledon men’s singles title because of his long list of Grand Slam success.

Berrettini will be playing in his first-ever Grand Slam final, and he has never beaten Djokovic in his career, but Sunday may be his best chance to contend with the Serbian legend because of how well he is playing.

Djokovic vs. Berrettini Stats

Head-to-Head: Djokovic leads 2-0

Season Record: Djokovic 27-3; Berrettini 26-6

Grand Slam Final Record: Djokovic 19-10; Berrettini 0-0

Prediction

Djokovic over Berrettini in Four Sets

It is hard to pick against Djokovic when he takes on a player from the younger generation in a Grand Slam final.

Djokovic turned away challenges from Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas over the last two years in major finals. 

The 34-year-old went the distance against Thiem at the 2020 Australian Open and against Tsitsipas at the French Open last month, but he still prevailed in the fifth set. 

In Friday’s semifinal, Djokovic picked up a straight-set victory over Denis Shapovalov despite the Canadian turning in one of the best serving performances of his career. 

Berrettini turned in a similarly strong showing on serve in his semifinal win over Hubert Hurkacz, but he needed a fourth set to close out the match after losing a third-set tiebreak. 

The seventh-seeded Italian did not concede a service break to Hurkacz, which is a promising sign for how he combats the challenge of facing the top seed in his first Grand Slam final. 

Berrettini took one set off Djokovic in their last meeting at the French Open quarterfinal. He needed a tiebreak in the third set to stay in the match, but Djokovic eventually won the contest in the fourth frame.

In the other head-to-head meeting, Djokovic lost three games in a two-set match at the ATP Finals in 2019. 

Berrettini is in much better form than he was back in 2019. He is 15-1 in his last 16 matches. 

Prior to Wimbledon, Berrettini won the men’s singles title at Queen’s Club. Three of the five victories in that tournament were against top-45 players. He also beat Andy Murray in the second round. 

Berrettini’s only loss in his last three tournaments came against Djokovic in the final eight on the Paris clay. 

The 25-year-old is capable of taking a set off Djokovic, but it is still hard to see him getting three set victories against the top seed in a single match. 

Until someone other than Federer or Nadal proves they can beat Djokovic in a final, the 19-time Grand Slam winner has to be the selection to win a major championship.

Statistics obtained from ATPTour.com.

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