On Sunday, Novak Djokovic defeated the skillful and controversial Nick Kyrgios—4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3)—to win his fourth Wimbledon title in a row and seventh overall.
Only Rafael Nadal, with 22, has won more major trophies overall, and Roger Federer, with eight, has won more Wimbledon championships among men than Djokovic.
For the time being, Djokovic won’t be able to attempt to catch Nadal by winning the US Open, which gets underway in late August.
The 35-year-old Serbian is unable to enter the country because he refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which is also why he skipped the Australian Open in January.
His skill and his clutch gene shone in the final tiebreaker in addition to his experience (32 Grand Slam final appearances compared to one for Kyrgios), and all of those attributes were present for two very crucial games that helped swing the match.
In those matches, Djokovic remained composed while Kyrgios faltered. And matches that Kyrgios refused to give up on as he started speaking in monologues, yelling at himself or his group (which does not include a full-time coach), receiving a warning for swearing, finding a reason to disagree with the chair umpire he fist-bumped before the match, and throwing a water bottle.
At 5-3 in the second set, with Djokovic serving, Kyrgios reached love-40, giving him three break points. However, Nick Kyrgios only hit a few careless returns before Djokovic eventually held.
At the conclusion of that set, Kyrgios waved dismissively at his box, sat down, dropped his racket to the ground, and moaned to no one in particular: “It was love-40! Can it get any bigger or what? Is that big enough for you?
When Kyrgios was serving in the third set at 4-all, 40-love, he once more allowed a game that appeared to be won to slip away, and Djokovic broke there.
With 11 winners before committing his second error, Nick Kyrgios was almost faultless in the opening set. The 27-year-old Australian Kyrgios, who is ranked 40th, has only advanced as far as the quarterfinals in 29 of his prior Grand Slam outings, and it had been 7 1/2 years since his last trip that far.
His talent is obvious to all. But over time, Nick Kyrgios has gained more attention for his preference for style over substance on the court, his irascible demeanor, which has led to him being ejected from matches and suspended, and his penchant for partying.
In the last two weeks alone, Nick Kyrgios has accrued $14,000 in fines, including one for spitting at a heckler after a first-round victory and another for swearing during a highly contentious victory over No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round.
Nick Kyrgios has also drawn criticism for donning a red hat and sneakers prior to or following matches at a venue where all-white attire is required. He is reportedly scheduled to appear in court in Australia next month to answer to an assault charge.
Like he has done so many times before, Djokovic held the trophy on Sunday. Similar to his semifinal and quarterfinal deficits of two sets each, he trailed in the championship match.
Just like he had in the Wimbledon and French Open finals of the previous year. facing two championship points against Federer, as he had in the 2019 All England Club final.
