Wimbledon 2021 Final: Novak Djokovic’s win-loss history and track record in Wimbledon finals

When Novak Djokovic steps out onto Centre Court of the All England Club on Sunday, he will begin his seventh final of the Wimbledon Championships. With that first step out, he will join second-placed Pete Sampras in the list of most men’s singles final appearances in the tournament. That’s not it; he will be vying for a sixth Wimbledon title, which will place him third in the list, behind Roger Federer’s eight and Sampras’ seven. But how well has he fared in the finals in the past? Let’s have a look:

1) 2011- First Wimbledon final, the first title (1-0)

The Serbian beat the then-defending champion Rafael Nadal 6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3 in the final to lift his maiden Wimbledon title. That was also his third Grand Slam title, having won the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open.

2) 2013- Not way past the local legend (1-1)

During his second Wimbledon title clash in 2013, Djokovic went down to Great Britain’s Andy Murray. After three hours and nine minutes, Murray won 6-4,7-5,6-4 and it was a significant part of their rivalry as it was their fourth meeting at the time.

3) 2014- Comeback in grand fashion (2-1)

As it turns out, that was the only defeat Djokovic faced in Wimbledon finals as he bounced back from a straight-set thrashing to beat Federer in a five-set thriller. After three hours and 56 minutes, he downed the Swiss Maestro 6-7,6-4,7-6,5-7,6-4.

4) 2015- Two in a row (3-1)

2015 final mirrored that of 2014, with the Serbian once again getting the better of Federer to bag his third Wimbledon title. In a match that lasted close to three hours, top-seed Djokovic won 7-6,6-7,6-4,6-3. This was their third meeting in a Grand Slam final at the time and the victory helped Djokovic level their head-to-head battle at 20 wins apiece.

5) 2018- Anderson no match for Djokovic (4-1)

South African Kevin Anderson had played a mammoth semifinal against John Isner two days before the final. He eventually won 7-6,6-7,6-7,6-4,26-24 in a mind-boggling encounter that lasted for more than six-and-a-half hours. As expected, that last-4 battle took everything out Anderson, hence clearing the road for Djokovic to lift his fourth title at the All England Club. The Serb won 6-2,6-2,7-6

6) Longest final but ever-lasting pain for some (5-1)

Fours and 57 minutes was the duration of the 2019 Wimbledon final, the longest in the history of the tournament. Roger Federer has a couple of match points and yet, Djokovic rose to his fifth title with a 7-6,1-6,7-6,4-6,13-12 triumph. Federer was denied a 21st, while Djokovic coasted to his 16th. Since then, Federer has not managed to reach a Slam final.

On Sunday, Djokovic will face Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who will be making his first-ever Grand Slam final appearance.