Novak Djokovic Wins Seventh Wimbledon Title
Novak Djokovic came back from a set down to beat unseeded Australian Nick Kyrgios 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(3) to win his seventh Wimbledon title on Sunday, closing in on Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slams.
The Serbian top seed won a fourth successive Wimbledon title at the All England Club to take his overall Grand Slam tally to 21.
A couple of well-disguised drop shots from Kyrgios helped him set up two breakpoints in the fifth game and a double fault from Djokovic brought up the first break of serve, which was enough for Kyrgios to take the set. Kyrgios entertained when he came up with an underarm serve and he hit a return on the half volley between his legs to delight the crowd.
Djokovic’s delivery went up a gear in the second set and the Serb slowly but surely started demonstrating why he is considered the best returner in the sport. Once the level of the Kyrgios serve dropped in the second set, Djokovic was ready to pounce.
With Djokovic serving to level the match at one set apiece, however, Kyrgios raised his game to set up four break points, only for the top seed to save all of them and convert his first set point to leave the Australian fuming.
Furious with himself, Kyrgios poured out his frustrations in a lengthy rant aimed at his box and the Australian maverick was his usual hot-headed self during the third set as Djokovic started playing brilliant tennis.
He got broken from 40-love up in the ninth game and continued swearing and screaming, earning himself a code violation for obscene language. The drama across the net, however, did not have any impact on Djokovic’s focus.
After holding serve to win the third set, Djokovic calmly collected his bag and left the court, leaving his opponent sitting on his chair and shaking his head in frustration.
After both players failed to create a breakpoint in the fourth set, Djokovic dominated the tiebreaker and sealed the Championship on his third match point for his 28th straight Wimbledon win when Kyrgios found the net on a return.
Centre Court rises again for one of its great champions
Congratulations, @DjokerNole 👏#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/RAm2mm56pS
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2022
“It always has been and always will be the most special tournament in my heart, the one that motivated me, inspired me to start playing tennis in a small mountain resort in Serbia where my parents used to run a restaurant,” said an emotional Djokovic.
“My first image of tennis was grass and Wimbledon. I always dreamed of coming here, just playing in this court, and then realising the childhood dream of winning this trophy.”
“Every single time it gets more meaningful and more special, so I’m very blessed and very thankful to be standing here with the trophy.”
The 35-year-old Serb stayed ice cool on a fiercely hot afternoon as he absorbed some early brilliance from maverick Kyrgios to come back from a set down and win 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(3).
No-one, however, expected it to be an easy straight-sets match with Djokovic having not lost at the All England Club since retiring injured from his 2017 quarter-final against Czech Tomas Berdych.
Magnificent.
In its 100 years, Centre Court has seen few champions like @DjokerNole#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/vffvL2f08Q
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2022
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters/Wimbledon.
