Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship: Top-Seed Djokovic Aims for 20th Major vs. #7 Matteo Berrettini in his Major Final Debut

Tennis

Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship: Top-Seed Djokovic Aims for 20th Major vs. #7 Matteo Berrettini in his Major Final Debut

  • Two-Time Defending Champion Can Tie Federer, Nadal for Most Majors among Men 
  • Coverage Starts with Breakfast at Wimbledon at 8 a.m. ET 
  • Encore on ABC at 3 p.m. ET 
  • ESPN+ with Six Championships:  Boys’ and Girls’ Singles, Boys’ and Girls’ Doubles, and Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Wheelchair Singles 

ESPN’s exclusive coverage of The Championships, Wimbledon will conclude with the Gentlemen’s Championship on Sunday, July 11, at 9 a.m. ET when top seed Novak Djokovic goes for a 20th Major championship and sixth at the All England Club.  That would create a three-way tie for the men’s record of career Majors at 20 apiece with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and further stoke the “GOAT debate.”  Standing in his way is #7 Matteo Berrettini, 25, the first Italian man in a Major final in 45 years – since Adriano Panatto won the French Open in 1976 – and the first Italian man or woman ever in a Wimbledon final.  Djokovic has prevailed in both their meetings, including a four-set duel at this year’s French Open quarterfinals.     

Breakfast at Wimbledon hosted by Chris McKendry will precede the action at 8 a.m. with a preview of the Gentlemen’s Championship, a review of Ash Barty’s victory in the Ladies’ Championship and other features and discussion.    The Mixed Doubles Championship will conclude the ESPN telecast. 

Chris Fowler will call the match alongside John and Patrick McEnroe.  An encore presentation will be aired on ABC at 3 p.m. 

The matchup: 

No. 1 Novak Djokovic:  34, 6’2” and from Serbia.  He has won 19 Majors and is the only man in the Open Era to have won a double career Grand Slam.  This is his 30th Major final and seventh at Wimbledon where he has won five of the previous six including the two most recent tournaments.  He has been the No. 1-ranked player in the world for a record of 328 weeks, including since February 2020.  His 84 career titles include 36 ATP Tour Masters (tied for the most with Rafael Nadal) and five ATP Finals.  He is the only player to have won all nine Masters 1000 tournaments.  A win on Sunday would put him three-quarters of the way to a calendar Grand Slam, last accomplished by Rod Laver in 1969.    

No. 7 Matteo Berrettini:  25, 6’5” and from Italy.  Known for his powerful serve and forehand, he has five career titles.  He has already impressed at all four Majors, having previously reached the fourth round in Australia this year, the quarterfinals of last month’s French Open and the semifinals of the US Open in 2019.  Last month, he won the title at the Queens Club Championship on grass just before Wimbledon.  It was his first appearance there, making him the first newcomer to take that title since Boris Becker in 1985 and first-ever Italian man to do so.    

ESPN+ on the ESPN App 

Beyond Centre Court, action on courts 1, 3 and 18 is available on the ESPN App with ESPN+.  Play begins at 6 a.m. (8 a.m. on No. 1 Court) and includes six finals:  Boys’ and Girls’ Singles, Boys’ and Girls’ Doubles, and Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Wheelchair Singles.   

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Dave Nagle

As I write this on 11-11-21, it's now 35 years for me at ESPN, the only real job I’ve ever had. I joined merely to help with the upcoming America’s Cup in Australia. I was told it would be for three months at all of $5.50 per hour. I like to say I simply kept showing up. I’ve worked on almost every sport, plus answered viewer calls and letters (people used to write!), given tours, written the company newsletter and once drove NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon to the local airport. My travels have been varied…I’ve been to Martinsville, Darlington, Indy and Super Bowls; the America’s Cup (all 3) in San Diego and College GameDay in the sport’s meccas such as Eugene, Auburn, Lubbock, Stillwater and more; the NBA Finals, Wimbledon (16 times and counting) and the “other Bristol,” the one with a race track in Tennessee. These days, my main areas are tennis, UFC, boxing, network-wide ratings (by month/quarter/year), and corporate communications documents, including fact sheets, chronologies, lists and nearly 35 of the Year in Review press releases. UPDATE EXACTLY ONE YEAR LATER: Today, November 11, 2022, I am retiring from ESPN -- 36 years to the day I began. As I ride off into the sunset – top down and E Street Radio blaring – I do so with so many wonderful memories, proud of my contributions and a heart full of gratitude for the opportunity. 
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