Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic waited. He waited for Nick Kyrgios to lose focus and lose his way. He waited to find the proper read on his foe’s big serves and waited until his own level of tennis rose to the occasion. Djokovic is not bothered by a deficit — in a game, a set, a match. He does not mind problem-solving. And at Wimbledon, for quite some time now, he does not get defeated. NovakDjokovic used his steady brilliance to beat the ace-delivering, trick-shot-hitting Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) here Sunday for a fourth consecutive Wimbledon championship and seventh overall. He won the title in 2018 and 2019, then again in 2021 when Wimbledon resumed after being abandoned in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The top-seeded Djokovic by virtue of his victory Sunday took his unbeaten run at the grass court Grand Slam tournament to 28 matches and raised his career haul to 21 Grand Slam trophies, breaking a tie with Roger Federer and moving just one behind Rafael Nadal’s 22 for the most in the history of men’s tennis.
Djokovic’s comeback on a sun-filled afternoon followed those in the quarterfinals, when Djokovic erased a two-set deficit against No.10 seed Jannik Sinner, and in the semifinals, when No. 9 Cam Norrie grabbed the opening set. In last year’s title match at Wimbledon, Djokovic dropped the opening set. In the 2019 final, he erased two championship points against Federer.
There were two particularly key moments Sunday that went Djokovic’s way, ones that Kyrgios would not let go as he began engaging in running monologues, shouting at himself or his entourage (which does not include a full-time coach), finding reason to disagree with the chair umpire (and earning a warning for cursing) and chucking a water bottle.
In the second set, with Djokovic serving at 5-3, Kyrgios was 0-40 up. However, Kyrgios played a couple of casual returns, and Djokovic eventually held. And then, in the third set, with Kyrgios serving at 4-all, 40-love, he again let a seemingly sealed game get away, with Djokovic breaking there.
Kyrgios, 27, has never been past the quarterfinals in 29 previous Grand Slam appearances. In some ways, however, he stole the show Sunday. He tried shots between his legs. Hit some with his back to the net. Pounded serves at up to 136 mph and produced 30 aces. Used an underarm serve, then faked one later. But after all that, it was Djokovic who was holding the trophy aloft.