A look at top seed Novak Djokovic’s path to a sixth Wimbledon trophy

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Novak Djokovic celebrates

Novak Djokovic made history with his sixth Wimbledon title and 20th Grand Slam success overall.

The world number one’s 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Matteo Berrettini saw him draw level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the top of the all-time charts.

Here we look at Djokovic’s route to the trophy.

First round – beat Jack Draper 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2

Jack Draper at Wimbledon

Jack Draper took a set off the world number one (John Walton/PA)

British teenager Draper gave the reigning champion a bit of a wake-up call when he took the first set on his Centre Court debut. The 19-year-old received plenty of plaudits for his performance but Djokovic still eventually breezed through.

Second round – beat Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-3

Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson

Djokovic dispatched Kevin Anderson in three (Steven Paston/PA)

Djokovic negotiated a potentially tricky second-round tie against South African Anderson in what was a repeat of the 2018 final. A straight-sets victory proved enough for Djokovic to claim the title three years ago and he repeated the dose by once again making light work of the big-serving Anderson.

Third round – beat Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)

Denis Kudla in action

Denis Kudla was a tricky customer in round three (Steven Paston/PA)

Another straight-sets win but this one was not nearly as straightforward. Back-to-back double faults from Djokovic gifted world number 114 Kudla a 3-0 lead in the tie-break, but some trademark resolute Djokovic defence, and some poor shot choices from the American, saw the top seed through.

Fourth round – beat Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-4, 6-2

Cristian Garin and Novak Djokovic

Cristian Garin was well beaten by Djokovic (John Walton/PA)

Djokovic eased into his 50th grand slam quarter-final with another straight-sets victory. Had he been able to pick an opponent for a last-16 clash at Wimbledon, he could have done a lot worse than Chilean Garin who, despite being seeded 17th, is a clay-court specialist and had never won a match at SW19 prior to this year.

Quarter-final – beat Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Novak Djokovic on the move

Djokovic saw off Marton Fucsovics in the last eight (John Walton/PA)

Things looked ominous for Fucsovics when Djokovic raced into a 5-0 lead and brought up two set points inside the first 25 minutes. The Hungarian fought hard but ultimately paid for his slow start to the match as Djokovic booked a place in the last four for the 10th time.

Semi-final – beat Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 7-5

Denis Shapovalov in action

Denis Shapovalov lost in three tight sets (Adam Davy/PA)

It was straight sets again but as Djokovic admitted afterwards, the scoreline did not tell the story of the match. Canadian 22-year-old Shapovalov, playing in his first grand slam semi-final, was the better player for most of the first two sets but could not convert his chances and fell in three of the tightest sets imaginable.

Final – beat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3

Djokovic was playing in his 30th Slam final and Berrettini his first. Both men began nervously but Berrettini fought back to win the opening set. A run of four games in a row at the start of the second set got Djokovic into the match and, although it remained tight, the top seed prevailed.

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