Novak Djokovic beats Nick Kyrgios to win Wimbledon title

LONDON: Novak Djokovic waited. He waited for Nick Kyrgios to lose focus and lose his way. Waited to find the proper read on his foe’s big serves. Waited until his own level rose to the occasion.

Djokovic is not bothered by a deficit – in a game, a set or a match. He does not mind problem-solving. And at Wimbledon, for quite some time now, he does not get defeated. Djokovic used his steady brilliance to beat the ace-delivering, trick-shot-hitting Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) on Sunday for a fourth consecutive Wimbledon championship and seventh overall.

The top-seeded Djokovic extended his unbeaten run at the grass-court Grand Slam to 28 matches and raised his career haul to 21 major trophies, breaking a tie with Roger Federer (20) and moving just one behind Rafael Nadal’s 22 for the most in men’s tennis history.

Among men, only Federer, with eight crowns, has won more titles at Wimbledon than Djokovic. In the professional era, only Federer was older (by less than a year) than the 35-year-old Djokovic when winning at the All England Club.

His comeback on a sun-filled afternoon followed those in the quarter-finals, when Djokovic erased a two-set deficit against No.10 seed Jannik Sinner, and in the semi-finals, when No.9 Cameron 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 on 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 got to 40-love – a trio of break points. But, the Australian played a couple of casual returns and the Serb 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.

The 40th-ranked Kyrgios was trying to become the first unseeded men’s champion at Wimbledon since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. Ivanisevic is now Djokovic’s coach and was in the Centre Court guest box for the match.

In some ways, Kyrgios stole the show on 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.

RESULTS:Men’s singles: Final: N Djokovic bt N Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3); Men’s doubles: Final: M Ebden/M Purcell bt N Mektic/M Pavic 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(10-2)