Wimbledon - Tennis: Men's final review

bet365 News Team Published: Jul 10 2022 19:52

Novak Djokovic claimed his fourth Wimbledon crown in a row as he defeated Nick Kyrgios 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) on Sunday.

In a clash that pitched the maverick against the machine, it was the pragmatic Serb who utilised both his skill and stamina to grind his mercurial opponent down on Centre Court.

As the temperatures soared to close to 40 degrees down at court level, Australian Kyrgios, who has lit up SW19 over the past fortnight, started well but couldn't keep it up. Much was made of him progressing to his first major final following a walkover on the back of Rafael Nadal's withdrawal and in the end, he didn't have quite enough to match his battle-hardened opponent.

Djokovic now has 21 Grand Slams to his name and few of those titles have come in such rollercoaster fashion. He has won in three sets just twice at this year's Championships, while he came from 2-0 down in the last eight to beat Jannik Sinner.

Kyrgios came out hard

Any fears that a lack of experience would hurt Kyrgios, or that his relative lack of match practice would slow him down, were soon dispelled as the Australian flew out of the traps.

He was happy to display his range from the opening game, utilising his top-spin forehand with particular aplomb, while his serving was faultless, sealing the opening set with an ace.

However, there was a change of feel early in the second as Djokovic won two long rallies to hold his serve and go 2-1 up before doubling his advantage by winning to love on Kyrgios' serve to lead 3-1.

That was the first time he had ever broken the Australian and while he grew in confidence, his opponent was clearly irked, chuntering towards his box in search of inspiration.

Djokovic held to give himself a chance to serve for the set.

Kyrgios ran into a 0-40 lead but failed to take his chances as Djokovic got it back to deuce, only to go long with a forehand to provide his opponent a fourth break point of the game. However, the Serbian again saved before serving out to level the match at one set all.

Game plan emerges

With Kyrgios now looking to be struggling, Djokovic went back to basics, keeping the ball in play and moving his opponent around with some clever drop shots.

The 35-year-old's variety prevented Kyrgios from rediscovering his rhythm and the pressure told as the world number 40 lost serve in the ninth game of the third to allow the top seed to go ahead.

It was similar in the fourth, Djokovic's returning unparalleled, but this time a tie-breaker was required and on his eighth wedding anniversary, the defending champion claimed his fourth Wimbledon crown in a row, and seventh in total.

The 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) scoreline arguably didn't tell the story of what was a pulsating final in which the now 21-time Grand Slam champion's experience told.

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New York, New York

The next big goal for both players will be the US Open, which begins at New York's USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on 29th July.

Djokovic is 5/4 to win for a third time in New York and claim a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam crown, while Kyrgios is available at 50/1, having never made it past the third round in the Big Apple.

Reigning champion Daniil Medvedev is 5/2 to defend his crown at Flushing Meadows, while, should he be fit, Nadal can be backed at 6/1 to win a third Grand Slam of the season, and record-extending 23rd in total.

Of course, before that there are some huge events on the North American hardcourts, with Masters 1000 tournaments in both Montreal and Cincinnati for the men. Meanwhile, the women will play in Toronto before joining their male counterparts in Ohio.

In the meantime, tennis fans can catch all the action on both the ATP and WTA Tours through our Sports Live Streaming platform.

The coming week sees ATP action on the grass in the form of the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island, while clay fans can follow every point at the Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden.

Meanwhile, on the WTA Tour, there is more clay tennis in the form of the Hungarian Grand Prix from Budapest and the Ladies Open Lausanne in the eponymous Swiss city.