Serbian Novak Djokovic defeats Nick Kyrgios in Wimbledon final

WIMBLEDON, UK — Novak Djokovic has been patient, waiting for Nick Kyrgios to lose focus, waiting to find solutions against his rival’s powerful serve and waiting for his game to shine when it matters.

The Serbian and favorite was finally rewarded by beating Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3), Sunday, in the final of the tournament of Wimbledon.

Djokovic thus got his hands on a seventh title at the All England Club and a 21st major title. Only Rafael Nadal has won more Grand Slam men’s singles titles in his career, with 22.

“Each win is even more special and meaningful,” Djokovic said. This tournament has always been the most special for me. He is the one who motivated me and inspired me to play tennis in a small mountain center in Serbia.

Djokovic extended his winning streak at the All England Club to 28. He thus overtook Roger Federer (20) for second place in history for major titles in men’s singles. He will have the opportunity to join Nadal in the No. 1 spot at the US Open, if he can make it.

For his part, Kyrgios participated in a first career final at a major tournament. He was trying to become the first man to win at Wimbledon without being a seed since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. Ivanisevic is now Djokovic’s coach.

Ranked 40th in the world, Kyrgios took advantage of a double fault from Djokovic to break his rival’s serve and take a 3-2 lead in the first set. He converted his second set point with an ace.

Djokovic leveled the odds by winning the second set. He saved four break points in the last game of the set.

In the third set, Kyrgios double faulted at 4-4 to offer a break point to Djokovic. He then sent a backhand into the net before seeing the Serb quickly win the set on serve.

Kyrgios managed to keep his composure for the majority of round four. Trailing 1-6 in the tiebreaker, Kyrgios extended the debate with a game winner and a 30th ace. Djokovic, however, converted his third championship ball.

The encounter ended after just over three hours, when Kyrgios fired a ball into the net. Djokovic turned back to his box and threw his arms up.

After a hug at the net with Kyrgios, he ate a few twigs of grass.

Kyrgios had won the two previous duels between the two players, each time in 2017.

Despite his talent, he had not reached the quarter-finals in his last 29 Grand Slam appearances.

Over the past two weeks, Kyrgios has racked up US$14,000 in fines. He was notably punished for spitting in the direction of a spectator during the first round and for using too colorful language in his victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. He was also criticized for wearing a red cap and shoes before or after games, when the dress code requires white.

On Sunday, Kyrgios tried it all — shots between his legs, with his back to the net, and serves over 218 km/h as well as an underhand serve. Djokovic has finally found the answers to Kyrgios’ entire arsenal.

« He’s a bit like a god, honestly, » Kyrgios said of Djokovic during the ceremony. I think I played well. I don’t even know how many times you’ve won this championship!

This is a fourth triumph in a row at Wimbledon for Djokovic. The tournament was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2022 edition of the prestigious grass-court tournament was disputed in some controversy. No points were awarded for the world ranking in reaction to the decision of the organizers to ban the Russian and Belarusian athletes. This decision was made in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Daniil Medvedev, first in the world ranking, was therefore among the absentees.

However, a Russian-born woman who has represented Kazakhstan for just four years triumphed in the women’s category when Elena Rybakina won on Saturday.