Federer, Nadal lead tributes to Djokovic after 20th Grand Slam win

London, Swiss ace Roger Federer, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and several present and former tennis greats hailed world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for winning his sixth Wimbledon title and 20th Grand Slam crown overall at the hallowed Wimbledon centre court.

By winning the title on Sunday after beating Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, the Serb top seed joined Federer and Nadal, the other two members of the Big Three, as the players with the most number of Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era.

Federer, the winner of eight Wimbledon titles, was among the first to wish Djokovic, saying, “Congrats Novak on your 20th major. I’m proud to have the opportunity to play in a special era of tennis champions. Wonderful performance, well done!”

Nadal, who lost to Djokovic in the French Open semifinal this year after a gruelling four hour and 10 minute battle tweeted, “Congrats @DjokerNole on this amazing achievement. 20 Grand Slam titles is huge and it is amazing that we are 3 players tied on this. Well done and, again, congrats to you and your team for this!@Wimbledon.”

Tennis great Billie Jean King urged the Serb to continue his sublime form and win the Olympic gold. “Congratulations to @DjokerNole, 6x #Wimbledon champion! He’s simply the best, and thrives on pressure. The Golden Slam is still in his sights. Next up: the Olympics.”

Legendary tennis player Rod Laver, winner of four Wimbledon titles in the 1960s, tweeted, “Congratulations Novak. Amazing achievement, you are on your way to a Grand Slam. Matteo, you played a fantastic tournament and I have no doubt your time will come.”

India’s cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, tweeted, “Great win @DjokerNole! Many congratulations on winning the @Wimbledon & your 20th Grand Slam title. Despite a challenging start and taking time to find your groove, you fought on and took your game to the next level. Absolute champion mentality to win this one.”