Djokovic ties record with 20th major singles crown

Novak Djokovic can earn the first men's Golden Slam ever
by winning the Olympics and U.S. Open. The title at Flush-
ing Meadows would give him the first men's Grand Slam
since Rod Laver in 1969. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   It appears to be only a matter of time until Novak Djokovic goes down as the greatest player ever.

   Maybe as little as two months.

   Djokovic tied Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles today, defeating Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 at Wimbledon. 

   Federer will turn 40 on Aug. 8, and Nadal, 35, is showing signs of his age. Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Djokovic can earn the first men's calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969 by winning the U.S. Open, Aug. 30-Sept. 12 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. 

   "I can definitely envision that happening," Djokovic said with a laugh in an on-court interview. "I will definitely give it a shot. I am in great form, and I am playing well at the Grand Slams. So let's keep it going."

   Furthermore, a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in two weeks could give Djokovic the first men's Golden Slam in history (the Olympics dropped tennis between 1924 and 1988).

   Djokovic won sixth Wimbledon singles crown, third among men in the Open Era (since 1968) behind Roger Federer (eight) and Pete Sampras (seven), and third in a row. He has won five of the last seven.

   "It was more than a battle," Djokovic said after improving to 3-0 against Berrettini. "Winning Wimbledon was always the biggest dream of mine as a child. I know how special this is, and I don't want to take it for granted.

   "I was a 7-year-old boy in Serbia, constructing a Wimbledon trophy with improvised materials in my room, and now I am standing here with six titles. It's incredible."

   The top-ranked Djokovic overcame 16 aces by the 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Berrettini to extend his winning streak to 18 matches and end Berrettini's at 11. 

   "For me, it's not the end; it's the beginning," said Berrettini, the first Italian player — man or woman — to reach the Wimbledon final.

   Djokovic led 5-2 (one service break) in the first set as the seventh-seeded Berrettini inevitably suffered the jitters in his first Grand Slam final. But Berrettini, who played with his left thigh taped after taking a nasty fall in Friday's semifinals, rallied for 5-5, saved a set point by chasing down a sharply angled drop shot and won the set with an ace down the middle.

   "There was a lot of tension," Djokovic admitted. "Then I started swinging through the ball."

   In the second set, Djokovic led 4-0 and served for it at 5-2, but Berrettini broke and overcame a 0-40 deficit by winning five consecutive points to hold for 4-5. This time, Djokovic held at love to even the match.   

   Djokovic broke for 2-1 in the third set on a Berrettini backhand error, saved two break points to hold for 4-2 and served out the set.

   Djokovic recovered from 0-30 to hold for 3-3 in the fourth set. Berrettini then double-faulted on break point. Djokovic held for 5-3 and broke serve for the match, converting his third championship point when Berrettini netted a slice backhand. 

   Mixed doubles final — No. 7 seeds Neal Skupski of Great Britain and Desirae Krawczyk, a native of Palm Desert, Calif., beat unseeded Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart of Great Britain 6-2, 7-6 (1).

   Krawczyk and Salisbury won the French Open mixed doubles title last month.

   Skupski played for the Sacramento-area California Dream of World TeamTennis in 2015, the team's only season of existence. Krawczyk, Salisbury and Dart starred in Northern California Challenger doubles in 2017.

Anderson upsets another seed for Redding title

   Nobody can say Robin Anderson backed into the singles title of the $25,000 Ascension Project Women's Challenger.
   The unseeded Anderson, a 24-year-old former UCLA star from Matawan, N.J., upset four seeds to earn the second and biggest crown of her career.
   In today's final, the 5-foot-3 (1.61-meter) Anderson defeated No. 6 seed Chanel Simmonds of South Africa 6-1, 6-4. Anderson also knocked off No. 2 Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway in the first round, No. 5 Karman Kaur Thandi of India in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Jovana Jaksic, a Serbian living in Sacramento, in the semifinals.
   While Anderson had a tough road to the final, Simmonds' hardly could have been easier. After two straight-set victories, she received a walkover in the quarterfinals and a retirement at 4-1 in the semifinals.
   Anderson, the 2013 runner-up to Adriana Perez of Venezuela as a UCLA junior-to-be, pocketed $3,919 for the championship. Her other singles title came in a $10,000 hardcourt tournament in Landisville, Pa., in 2011.
   Simmonds, 25, collected $2.901. The 5-foot-5 (1.65-meter) left-hander was seeking her 17th singles crown and fourth in a $25,000 tournament. Her other titles came in smaller events.
   Both finalists will rise to about No. 302 in the Sept. 24 rankings, Anderson from No. 369 and Simmonds from No. 330. They have been ranked as high as No. 183 and No. 158, respectively.
   Unseeded players also won the doubles title as Daneika Borthwick of Great Britain and Ana Veselinovic of Montenegro beat third-seeded Harriet Dart of Great Britain and Maria Sanchez of the United States 6-3, 6-4.
   Veselinovic stunned top-seeded Sofya Zhuk, the 2015 Wimbledon girls champion at age 15, in the first round of singles en route to the quarterfinals. Sanchez, a 27-year-old Modesto product, won the 2011 Redding doubles title with since-retired Yasmin Schnack of Sacramento.
   Here are the complete singles and doubles draws.

Urszula Radwanska edges No. 3 seed in marathon

   Qualifier Urszula Radwanska, a former top-30 player from Poland, edged third-seeded Harriet Dart of Great Britain 7-6 (2), 1-6, 7-6 (5) in 3 hours, 28 minutes today to reach the quarterfinals of the $25,000 Ascension Project Women's Challenger in Redding, Calif.
   The match was one of three marathons at Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness.
   Eighth-seeded Katie Swan of Great Britain outlasted qualifier Lauren Marker, a former University of Arizona star from Rancho Mirage, Calif., 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 in 3 hours, 18 minutes in the featured evening singles match.
   Also, Ana Veselinovic of Montenegro held off Quinn Gleason, an ex-Notre Dame standout from Mendon, N.Y., 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in 2 hours, 58 minutes.
   Veselinovic committed 15 double faults, bringing her total to 25 in two tournament matches. The 29-year-old left-hander ousted top-seeded Sofya Zhuk, the 2015 Wimbledon junior champion at 15 years old, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the first round.
   Swan will face Veselinovic and Radwanska will meet sixth-seeded Chanel Simmonds of South Africa in the top half of the draw.
   Fourth-seeded Jovana Jaksic, a Serbian living in Sacramento, will take on American Caitlin Whoriskey and fifth-seeded Karman Kaur Thandi of India will play American Robin Anderson, the 2013 runner-up to Adriana Perez of Venezuela, in the bottom half.
   Here are the singles and doubles draws and Friday's schedule.