Novak Djokovic becomes fourth man in Open Era to record streak of four consecutive Wimbledon titles – joining Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg; Kyrgios called for a woman who "looks like she's had about 700 drinks" to be ejected and berated his own box
Monday 11 July 2022 06:15, UK
Novak Djokovic proved too classy for Nick Kyrgios on Centre Court as the top seed collected his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title and seventh overall on Sunday.
The top seed secured his 21st Grand Slam title to move ahead of Roger Federer and just one behind Rafael Nadal on the all-time list, sealed with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory.
Djokovic joked about his "bromance" with Kyrgios after they had shared Instagram messages in the build-up to the match.
"Nick, you'll be back, not just at Wimbledon but in the finals. I know that it's tough to find consolation words after a tough loss like this, you showed why you deserve to be one of the best players in the world, particularly on this surface," said Djokovic.
"I really respect you a lot, I think that you are a phenomenal tennis player, athlete and an amazing talent. You've been hearing that for many years, but now everything is starting to come together for you.
"I'm sure we're going to see lots of you in later stages of Grand Slams. I never thought I'd say so many nice things about you, considering the relationship. OK, it's officially a bromance."
The Serbian has now won seven of the last 11 titles at the All England Club, equalling Pete Sampras' tally and closing to within one of Federer's men's singles record here.
It has been a difficult season for Djokovic but he has once again been able to rely on the lawns of Centre Court to bring the best out of him, and he raised his arms aloft after securing another famous win.
Much of the excitement for the match centred on how Kyrgios would both perform and behave in his first major singles final.
Kyrgios' first service game featured a 125 miles per hour second serve ace and an underarm serve but mostly Kyrgios wowed with the quality of his play, breaking Djokovic in the fifth game and clinching the set with his seventh ace.
Winning a set against Djokovic has not meant much at Wimbledon this year, though, and the top seed did what he does best, finding a metronomic rhythm both on return and from the baseline and gradually wearing his opponent down.
He broke the Kyrgios serve for the first time in their three meetings to lead 3-1, and the Australian began to channel his stress into ranting at his support box.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge may have been shifting a little more uncomfortably in their plush Royal Box seats, with Prince George sitting within earshot.
Kyrgios had the majority of the crowd's support, and he whipped them up with a leaping pump of the fist when he chased down a drop shot at 3-5 that helped him create four break points, but he could not take any of them.
Djokovic was now reading the Kyrgios serve incredibly well and the pressure on the challenger was growing all the time.
An eventful fifth game of the third set saw Kyrgios win a point with a tweener, receive a code violation for swearing after a spectator called out before his second serve and then implored umpire Renaud Liechtenstein to have the woman "who looks like she's had about 700 drinks, bro" ejected.
The 27-year-old was doing remarkably well to hold on to his serve but the dam burst in the ninth game when, from 40-0, Djokovic won five successive points to leave himself serving for the set.
Kyrgios screamed at his box and then slammed his water bottle down in frustration.
A lengthy bathroom break for Djokovic allowed Kyrgios to cool the fires, and he did well to hold serve throughout the fourth set, but a one-sided tie-break proved the end of his hopes.
Since Roger Federer's first Wimbledon title in 2003, only Andy Murray has managed to break the big three stranglehold, with Mark Philippoussis, Andy Roddick, Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson and Matteo Berrettini all coming up short in finals.
After donning his red baseball cap - in a probable breach of the strict Wimbledon dress code - to collect the runners-up trophy from the Duchess of Cambridge, Kyrgios said: "He's a bit of a god. I thought I played well.
"To all the ball kids, umpires - I know we have a tough relationship - thank you for putting up with me. And the crowd have been amazing."
Asked by presenter Sue Barker if he had got a taste for more Grand Slam finals, he said: "Absolutely not, I'm so tired.
"Myself and my team are all exhausted. I need a well-earned vacation. I'm really happy with this result, the best of my career. Maybe one day I'll be back."
Kyrgios leaves Wimbledon with one last fine for the fortnight. £3,000 for his audible obscenity, taking the total for the fortnight to £15,000. His prize money for reaching the final was £1,050,000.
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