Novak Djokovic has been waiting. He waited for Nick Kyrgios to lose focus and lose his way. Waiting to find the right reading for his enemy’s big serves. Wait until your own level rises to this occasion.
Djokovic doesn’t mind a deficit – in a game, a set, a match. He is not afraid to solve problems. And at Wimbledon, it’s been quite a while since he’s been beaten.
Djokovic used his steady brilliance to beat Kyrgios with an ace serve, trick shot with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Sunday to won the fourth consecutive Wimbledon title and seventh overall.
Top seed Djokovic went on an undefeated streak at the grass-court Grand Slam to 28 matches and lifted his career path to 21 major titles, breaking the record with Roger Federer and only 22 matches behind Rafael Nadal in the tournament. history. of men’s tennis.
Of the men, only Federer, with 8, has won more titles at Wimbledon than Djokovic. In the professional era, only Federer was older (less than a year) than the 35-year-old Djokovic when he won the All England Club.
His return on a sunny afternoon followed the quarterfinals, when Djokovic equalized two sets against 10th seed Jannik Sinner, and in the semifinals, when 9th seed Cam Norrie won take the opening set. In last year’s title match at Wimbledon, Djokovic dropped the opening set. In the 2019 final, he cleared two championship points against Federer.
There were two particularly pivotal moments on Sunday that followed Djokovic’s path, moments that Kyrgios won’t miss as he begins engaging in monologues, shouting at himself or depending on the situation. his team (excluding the full-time coach), find reasons to disagree. the chair umpire (and warned for swearing) and squeezed a water bottle.
In the second set, when Djokovic served 5-3, Kyrgios got his love-40 – a trio of break points. But Kyrgios played a few occasional returns, and Djokovic ended up holding a draw. And then, in the third set, with Kyrgios serving at 4 in all, 40 loves, he let a seemingly closed match slip away, with Djokovic breaking serve there.
40th-ranked Kyrgios is trying to become the first men’s champion at Wimbledon since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. Ivanisevic is now Djokovic’s coach and is in the Center’s away area for the match.
Kyrgios is a 27-year-old from Australia who has never made it past the quarterfinals in his previous 29 Grand Slam appearances – and the last time reached seven and a half years ago.
In a way, he stole the show on Sunday. He tried shooting between his legs. Hit some with his back into the net. Pound serves at speeds up to 136 mph and produces 30 aces. Used an underarm serve, then faked a serve later.
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