The 2022 Wimbledon tournament has experienced several upheavals this year. However, one thing remained stable: the identity of the winner of the men’s final. Novak Djokovic has won the London tournament for a fourth consecutive edition, his 21e career Grand Slam title.
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In the final, the Serb beat Australian Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) to earn his seventh career Wimbledon title. At the same time, he joined Pete Sampras and William Renshaw in second place in history. This is his fourth title in a row on London soil.
With this 21st Grand Slam title, he is second in history ahead of Roger Federer. Rafael Nadal has the most (22). Djokovic, however, will not be able to participate in the last major of the season, the United States Open, at the end of August due to his vaccination status.
Besides, Djokovic announced at the start of Wimbledon that he does not intend to be vaccinated in order to be able to enter the country of Uncle Sam. And the Serb does not intend to engage in a showdown as he did in Australia earlier this year.
Foreground Duel
Coming back to the final, we saw an excellent show from Djokovic and Kyrgios. The Serb was simply more of an opportunity than the Australian in key moments to secure his 28th straight win at Wimbledon.
After losing the first set, Djokovic took control of the game in the second. With a 5-3 lead, he saved four break points before winning the set.
Then, in the third, he broke Kyrgios with a 4-4 tie and a 40-0 score in the game. This moment gave a hard blow to the hopes of the Australian who stood up to the third racket in the world.
During these sequences, Kyrgios started talking to himself again. A sign that does not deceive when he loses control of the game. Meanwhile, on the other side of the net, Djokovic was consistent as a metronome. With his legendary calm, the defending champion was surgically precise in his strikes.
Flowers
Even though the last round was close, Djokovic was never in danger by the 40th player in the world. The tiebreaker was one-sided. Kyrgios, physically and mentally dropped, gave points to his rival on a silver platter.
“He’s like a god,” praised Kyrgios on the pitch. I’m happy with my tournament, but I’m very tired. I’m going to need a vacation. I hope that I will be able to return to this position one day.”
Djokovic threw the flowers back to her. The ‘bromance’ between the two players is now confirmed.
“I am convinced that you will come back to Wimbledon and that you will still go to the final, mentioned the champion, looking at his opponent. In my opinion, you have just proven that you are one of the best players.
“As for my 21st Grand Slam title, words fail me to express how I feel. Wimbledon is the most recognized tournament in the world and for me it is a great source of inspiration.
After the speeches, Djokovic showed a lot of class as he shook hands with several spectators and several Wimbledon staff members. He even allowed himself a discussion of a few minutes with Prince William, his wife Kate Middleton and their son George. The seven-time champion has been very generous.