Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic wins for the seventh time

Wimbledon, UK – Novak Djokovic has been patient, waiting for Nick Kyrgios to lose focus, waiting to find solutions against his tough opponent’s serve, and waiting for his game to shine at the crucial moments.

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

Thus, Djokovic won the seventh title in the All England Club and the 21st major title. Rafael Nadal is the only one to have won more men’s singles titles at a Grand Slam in his career, with a score of 22.

“Every win is more special and meaningful,” Djokovic said. This tournament has always been the most special for me. He is the one who motivated 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. In doing so, he overtook Roger Federer (20) to finish second in history with major men’s singles titles. He will have the opportunity to join Nadal for the top spot at the US Open, if he can.

For his part, Kyrgios participated in his first professional final in a major tournament. He was trying to become the first player to win Wimbledon without being seeded 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 opponent and lead 3-2 in the first set. He converted his second point with an ace.

Djokovic equalized 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 provide a break point for Djokovic. He then sent a backhand into the net before seeing the Serb quickly win the set on serve.

Kyrgios managed to maintain his composure for the majority of the fourth round. After trailing 1-6 in the tiebreak, Kyrgios extended the debate with the match winner and ace 30. However, Djokovic turned the third championship ball.

The confrontation ended just over three hours later, when Kyrgios sent a ball into the net. Djokovic returned to his box and raised his arms.

After a hug on the net with Kyrios, he ate a few twigs of grass.

Kyrgios has won the previous two games between players, each time in 2017.

Despite his talent, he did not reach the quarter-finals in his last 29 Grand Slam matches.

Over the past two weeks, Kyrios has accumulated $14,000 in fines. He was particularly punished for spitting in a spectator’s direction during the first round and for using very colorful language in his victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. He was also criticized for wearing a red hat and boots before or after matches, when a white dress code required.

On Sunday, Kyrgios tried everything, shots between his legs, his back to the net, serving at a speed of more than 218 km/h plus a transmission from below. Djokovic finally found the answers to his entire Kyrgios arsenal.

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

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

The 2022 edition of the prestigious grasscourt championship has been the subject of some controversy. No points were awarded for the world ranking in reaction to the organizers’ decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes. This decision was made in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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

However, a Russian-born woman who had represented Kazakhstan for four years only won the women’s class when Elena Rybakina won on Saturday.