Novak Djokovic beats Nick Kyrgios to claim seventh Wimbledon title

Novak Djokovic continued his incredible dominance on the grass courts of Wimbledon as the top seed beat Nick Kyrgios to win his fourth consecutive title at SW19. Djokovic produced an incredible fightback after losing the opening set in Sunday’s final, beating the Australian 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to claim his seventh crown at the All England Club, pulling him level with Pete Sampras on the all-time list and one shy of Roger Federer, who has eight.

Djokovic’s triumph on centre court was his first major title since his Wimbledon victory in 2021, pushing him above Roger Federer to 21 Grand Slams and leaving him hot on the heels of the current record-holder Rafael Nadal.

Nick Kyrgios had won each of the two previous meetings between the pair on hard courts, and the 27-year-old took the early advantage in the final. The Australian dominated the rallies and broke Djokovic’s serve after a rare double fault from the Serbian to take a 3-2 lead. Kyrgios was at his faultless best during the opening set, delivering seven aces and dropping just five points on his serve to take a 1-0 lead.

However, just as he did in the semi-final against Cameron Norrie, Djokovic rallied after losing the first set. The 35-year-old raised his level to break Kyrgios on love in the fourth game of the second set and saved four break points at 5-3 to tie the match at one set apiece.

Djokovic got better at returning Kyrgios’ hammer serve as the match wore on, and the Serbian raised his level in the key moments to emerge victorious. At 4-4 in the third, the top seed fought back from 40-0 down to break Kyrgios’ serve for only the second time in his career before consolidating to take the third set.

Neither player found much headway on each other’s service in the fourth set, forcing a tiebreak that Djokovic dominated. The 35-year-old raced to a 6-1 lead thanks to a slew of errors from Kyrgios and remained nerveless as he closed out the victory, converting his third match point to regain the Wimbledon Men’s Singles crown for the fourth year in a row.

The world number three has had a tough year in 2022 after being deported and subsequently banned from Australia for three years before losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the French Open. However, with this victory, the Serbian returned to the peak of his powers, extending his winning run at Wimbledon since 2017 and remaining undefeated on centre court in his previous 39 games stretching back to 2013.