Wimbledon 2021 tennis – Why a Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer final is not the most likely outcome

ByMichael Hincks

Updated 07/07/2021 at 08:11 GMT

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer met in the 2019 Wimbledon final and they are on a collision course to meet on Centre Court in Sunday’s showdown once more. However, the form of Matteo Berrettini – the No 7 seed who won Queen’s – means it is no given that Djokovic and Federer will face off at SW19 this year.

The Queen's champion and No 7 men's seed at Wimbledon is quietly going about his business at SW19.

For three straight matches, Matteo Berrettini played on the No 3 Court - fourth in the pecking order at Wimbledon - and after coming through them all dropping just the one set, he was then in action on Court 12.

Ilya Ivashka was no match for Berrettini in the fourth round on Manic Monday, with the Italian continuing his fine form on grass when comfortably beating the Belarusian 6-4 6-3 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals.

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Perhaps a Queen's winner would expect more prominence, but Berrettini is unlikely to mind the fact he has reached the last eight having gone relatively under the radar.

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The 25-year-old has also acknowledged he is in the form of his life as he aims to reach a first ever Grand Slam final.

“I feel I am playing for sure the best tennis of my career. 2019 I was playing good, but everything was kind of new. I had to adjust a little bit,” Berrettini said.

Now I have more confidence for sure, more experience as well. I know I can achieve my best results like I'm doing quarters in Paris, quarters here. Obviously the tournament is not done yet. I'm really looking forward to achieving even more.

With the draw opening up Berrettini will be dreaming of reaching Sunday’s final. He looks a natural on grass, more so than Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, who were both on his side of the draw but have gone on to exit the tournament early.

Matteo Berrettini serves to Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene during their men's singles third round match on the sixth day of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships

Image credit: Getty Images

Next up for Berrettini is the dangerous Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 16th seed on his own incredible run after beating Zverev to reach his first Grand Slam quarter.

It promises to be a tight affair between Berrettini and Auger-Aliassime, with the victor playing Roger Federer or Hubert Hurkacz in the semis, and while a certain eight-time champion stands out from that list of names, it is arguably Berrettini who is the in-form player in this half.

“I'm pretty happy for the level, for the intensity, for my mindset over all the games and stuff. I was pretty focused,” Berrettini added.

“I'm happy. I feel like I'm not using a lot of energy because I won most of the matches three sets. It's really good for me if I look at the long run.”

The bookies make Federer the second favourite, but as Wednesday’s play unfolds it is worth keeping an eye on Berrettini on Court One – he could well be the one player most capable of ensuring it’s not a familiar looking final come Sunday.

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Watch daily evening highlights of all the best action from Wimbledon on Eurosport 1, plus the men's and women's finals live on Eurosport 2. All coverage is also available to stream via eurosport.co.ukand the Eurosport app.

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