Djokovic wins record-equalling 20th Grand Slam and sixth Wimbledon title
Wimbledon, Jul 11: Novak Djokovic tied Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by claiming his 20th Grand Slam title Sunday, coming back to beat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final.
The No. 1 -ranked Djokovic earned a third consecutive championship at the All England Club and sixth overall.
He adds that to nine titles at the Australian Open, three at the U.S. Open and two at the French Open to equal his two rivals for the most majors won by a man in tennis history.
The 34-year-old from Serbia is now the only man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the first three major tournaments in a season. He can aim for a calendar-year Grand Slam something last accomplished by a man when Laver did it 52 years ago at the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 30.
This was Djokovic's 30th major final among men, only Federer has played more, 31 and the first for Berrettini, a 25-year-old from Italy who was seeded No. 7.
It was a big sporting day in London for Italians: Their national soccer team faced England at Wembley Stadium in the European Championship final at night.
With Marija Cicak officiating, the first female chair umpire for a men's final at a tournament that began in 1877, play began at Centre Court as the sun made a rare appearance during the fortnight, the sky visible in between the clouds.
The opening game featured signs of edginess from both, but especially Djokovic, whose pair of double-faults contributed to the half-dozen combined unforced errors, compared with zero winners for either. He faced a break point but steadied himself and held there and, as was the case with every set, it was Djokovic who took the lead by getting through on Berrettini's speedy serve.
Berrettini came in with a tournament-high 101 aces and that's where his game is built: free points off the serve and quick-strike forehands that earned him the nickname Hammer.
Those powerful strokes sent line judges contorting to get their head out of harm's way. Djokovic occasionally took cover himself, crouching and raising his racket as if it were a shield to block back serves aimed at his body.
Not many opponents return serves at 137 mph and end up winning the point, but Djokovic did that at least twice. And the big groundstrokes that the 6-foot-5, barrel-chested Berrettini can drive past most other players kept coming back off Djokovic's racket.
That's what Djokovic does: He just forces foes to work so hard to win every point, let alone a game, a set, a match.
Indeed, this one could have been over much sooner: Djokovic took leads of 4-1 in the first set, 4-0 in the second and 3-1 in the third. But in the first, especially, he faltered in ways he rarely does, wasting a set point and getting broken when he served for it at 5-3.
In the ensuing tiebreaker, they were tied at 3-all, but Berrettini won three of the next four points with forehands, and closed it out with a 138 mph ace.
He strutted to the changeover and many in the full house of nearly 15,000 rose to celebrate along with him.
But Djokovic is nothing if not a fighter he turned things around from two sets down in the French Open final last month and he worked his way back into this one, which ended with Djokovic on his back on the court, basking in the crowd's cheers.
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Become CM after winning next Assembly polls: Minister KN Rajanna to DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Jan 10: Karnataka Minister K N Rajanna on Friday suggested Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to become Chief Minister of the state for the full five years, after winning the next Assembly polls under his leadership, rather than eyeing the post during the remaining two-and-half years of the current government's tenure.
His comments came following Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's recent dinner with select Dalit and ST Cabinet colleagues, creating a buzz within the Congress, amid speculation about a possible change of guard in the state after March, under a "rotational chief minister" or "power-sharing" formula.
Cooperation Minister Rajanna, who is considered to be a confidant of Siddaramaiah, was also part of the dinner meeting.
Shivakumar has made no secret of his ambition to become the CM.
"As a human being, the desire for power is natural. I don't feel that him (Shivakumar) showing interest or desire for the Chief Minister post is wrong. Previous (2023) election was under the leadership of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, and people blessed us (Congress)," Rajanna said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, the high command has appointed the legislature party leader, who is the CM, and they have the powers to change the leader in the future if they want, and everyone will accept whatever decision they make.
"Let's go for the next Assembly polls under Shivakumar's leadership, and with the party coming to power once again under his leadership, let him be the chief minister for the full five years, why fight for two-and-half years now?"
Rajanna said, "I'm not saying don't fight for two-and-half years. My suggestion for him is why fight to be CM for two-and-half years, become CM for a full five years. Who will object..."
Asked if he will be minister in Shivakumar's cabinet if there is a chance, Rajanna said, he won't contest elections anymore, and also don't expect to become minister in anyone's cabinet.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the CM's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.
There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.
A meeting of Congress leaders, ministers, and lawmakers from SC/ST communities, scheduled for Wednesday evening under the leadership of Home Minister G Parameshwara and supported by Rajanna, had to be postponed following instructions from AICC general secretary in-charge of the state, Randeep Singh Surjewala.
According to sources, the decision to postpone the meeting came after Shivakumar, a chief ministerial aspirant, met AICC general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal in New Delhi on Monday night to discuss party developments.
A section within the Congress feels that the SC/ST convention and Parameshwara's dinner meeting could revive the demand for a Dalit or AHINDA (a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes, and Dalits) leader to become the next chief minister. This could complicate Shivakumar's prospects if Siddaramaiah steps down after the state budget, as speculated.
Rajanna had in the past demanded the party to enforce the 'one person, one post' policy, which was seen as a move to mount pressure on Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief.
He had also batted for three more Deputy Chief Ministers -- from Veerashaiva-Lingayat, SC/ST and minority communities -- along with Shivakumar a Vokkaliga.
Reacting to union minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's 60 per cent commission charge against the Congress government, Rajanna said, "Ask Kumaraswamy how much is his percentage and let's say what is the difference later. Is Kumaraswamy a Satya Harishchandra?"
Claiming that 90 per cent of political leaders in this country are corrupt, he said, "How much would we spend during elections? Where does that money come from? Do we spend by selling our assets? Don't we borrow from someone for it? Does the person who lends money, lends just like that? If we speak the truth before the media, it will become an issue. The situation is such that the truth cannot not be spoken."
