Djokovic eyes Slam No. 20, Berrettini his first





 The man standing between Novak Djokovic and a re- cord-tying 20th Grand Slam title, Matteo Berrettini, re- members being wowed by Wimbledon when he played in the junior event as a teenager. “For me, it was just ab- surd. I asked myself, ‘Who knows if one day I'll return and play in the main tourna- ment, even just in qualify- ing? I have no idea.’ And now

I'm in the final,” he said, then laughed at the thought of it all. "So it’s all a bit strange," continued the barrel-chest- ed, big-hitting Berrettini, now 25. “But what’s beauti- ful is that I’m much more aware of what I can do now. I know I can do this, because I'm here.” That he is. 

Multiple firsts On Sunday at the All England Club, the No. 1-seeded Djo- kovic's 30th Major final will

be No. 7 seed Berrettini’s first — and the first for any man from Italy since Adria- no Panatta won the 1976 French Open. It will also be the first men's final at Wimbledon with a woman chair umpire — Marija Cicak. Djokovic recalled what it felt like to play in a Slam final for the first time. He was 20 and lost to Roger Federer in three tight sets, including two tiebreakers, at the 2007 US Open. “I was just so

thrilled to be in the final,” Djokovic said. “I was close. I had a good match against Roger, but I just probably did not, maybe, believe enough, I guess, in the victory at cer- tain moments when the sco- reline was close.” Self-confidence is not an issue for Djokovic these days, however. He's won his past 18 sets and his last 20 matches at Wimbledon. Can the Italian end the Serb’s streak? Sunday will tell.

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