History made, history beckons. Novak Djokovic became just the sixth player in history to win 20 Grand Slam titles with victory at Wimbledon, beating Italy’s Matteo Berrettini over four rollercoaster sets in the final, 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4 6-3.

For the first time in his career, Djokovic stands level with both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slam titles apiece. The trio have claimed 60 of the last 72 men’s singles majors between them; in the history of the sport, only Margaret Court (24), Serena Williams (23) and Steffi Graf (22) have won more.

“It means none of us three will stop,” Djokovic, now a six-time Wimbledon champion, said during the trophy presentation when asked of their shared legacies.

“I think that’s what it means. I have to pay a great tribute to Rafa and Roger. They are legends of our sport and they are the two most important players that I ever faced in my career. They are the reason that I am where I am today.”

While Djokovic is showing no signs of slowing down, perhaps the 2021 season has given us a glimpse of life beyond the Big Three’s dominance of the sport’s major finals. For a third slam in succession, the Serb faced a player yet to win a major in the title match, having beaten Daniil Medvedev in Melbourne and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Paris before taking on Berrettini – like the Greek, playing his first major final – in south-west London. With that, 16 of his 30 Grand Slam finals have now come against players not named Roger or Rafa – though it should be noted that Andy Murray accounts for seven of the rest.

Berrettini came into the match having lost both of his previous meetings with the world No. 1, who opened a 5-2 lead in the first set. But the Italian fought back to force a tiebreak and take the opener, just the second set Djokovic had dropped during the fortnight.

Djokovic responded with a surge to 4-0 in the second before levelling up, and as the volume increased on Centre Court between vocal factions screaming for ‘Matteo’ and ‘Nole’, a single break in both the third and fourth sets proved decisive.

“That was more than a battle,” Djokovic said. “Winning Wimbledon was always the biggest dream of mine when I was a kid… I have to remind myself how special this is, and not take this for granted.”

The onus now switches to something not seen in the men’s game since 1969: the Calendar Slam. Australia’s Rod Laver was the last man – and the only man of the Open Era – to win all four majors in a single season, something the reigning Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion can match with victory at the US Open in September.

Before that, there’s the prospect of winning his first Olympic gold in Tokyo, a feat that would see him join Nadal, Williams, and Andre Agassi as winners of the career golden slam. Should he follow it up with victory in New York, Djokovic would become just the second player in history to win all five of the sport’s highest honours in a single season, as Graf did in 1988.