Novak Djokovic In Position To Win 4th Straight Wimbledon, 21st Grand Slam Title Vs. Nick Kyrgios

With one more victory at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic can close the gap in career major titles on his biggest rival, Rafael Nadal, to 22-21.

All that is standing in his way is the mercurial Nick Kyrgios, who has beaten Djokovic in their only two meetings, both on hardcourts, and both five years ago.

Djokovic will seek his fourth straight Wimbledon title — joining Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer in an elite club — , his seventh overall and his 21st major singles championship when he faces Kyrgios in Sunday’s championship match.

Djokovic advanced to his 32nd Grand Slam final with a four-set win over Britain’s Cam Norrie, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, while Kyrgios got a walkover into the final after Nadal withdrew from their semifinal with an abdominal injury. It was the first walkover in a Wimbledon semifinal.

“Well, one thing is for sure, there’s going to be a lot of fireworks emotionally from both of us,” Djokovic said of Kyrgios with a laugh.

“It’s going to be his first Grand Slam final, obviously he’s very excited and he doesn’t have much to lose and he’s always playing like that. He’s playing so freely, he has one of the biggest serves in the game. Just big game overall, a lot of power in his shots. We haven’ tplayed for some time, I never won a set off him so hopefully it can be different this time.

“It’s another final for me here in Wimbledon, the tournament I love so much, so hopefully the experience can work in my favor.”

Complicating matters is the fact that this could be Djokovic’s final match in a major for some time, possibly until the 2023 French Open.

The 35-year-old Serb expects to miss the U.S. Open later this summer because he’s unvaccinated against Covid-19 and thus cannot travel to the U.S. as a foreigner, and he faces a three-year ban from the Australian Open after having been deported ahead of the tournament in January, although that ban could end early.

That makes the Wimbledon title all the important in the context of his historic race with Nadal and Federer.

“He needs this title,” ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe said on air. “He needs it to stay within reach of Rafael Nadal.”

Djokovic has made no secret of his desire to finish atop the all-time list.

“It’s not a secret that I’m trying to win as many Slams as possible,” Djokovic, who is tied with Federer at 20 majors, has said. “It’s obvious that history is on the line.”

Nadal had won the first two legs of the Grand Slam and was 19-0 in majors in 2022 before pulling out. He was seeking to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the calendar Slam. Djokovic came within one victory of the historic feat a year ago before losing in the U.S. Open final to Daniil Medvedev.

Djokovic has lost both matches with Kyrgios, but those were back in 2017 and neither was at a major. Still, he will be the favorite against Kyrgios, who is playing the best tennis of his career at 27 despite his continued erratic behavior.

“There is a very good chance Djokovic wins his 7th Wimbledon title, and then ends up with the most Grand Slam titles of all of them,” seven-time major winner Mats Wilander said.

Off the court, Kyrgios is facing assault charges related to an incident from last December with his former girlfriend. He faces an Aug. 2 court date in Australia.

All eyes will be on Kyrgios to see if he tones down his act in the Wimbledon final. In his third-round upset of No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, Kyrgios frequently cursed, insulted the umpire and at one point called for Tsitsipas to be disqualified after the Greek hit a ball toward fans in the stands. He also hit a between-the-legs, under-hand serve.

He later insulted Tsitsipas in his post-game press conference, saying he wasn’t liked in the locker room and that Kyrgios was more popular.

He and Djokovic appear to have a mutual respect, though.

“We [Djokovic and him] have a bit of a bromance now,” Kyrgios said Friday. “I felt like I was the only player to stand up for him with all that drama at the Australian Open.”

Kyrgios appears to have a lot of respect for tennis’ “Big 3” of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, who are all closer to the end of their careers than the beginning.

“We’ll never see a competitor like Rafa again,” he said. “You’ll never see someone wield a racquet like Roger so effortlessly. You’ll never probably see anyone who just plays the game so good as a winner than Djokovic. It’s going to be a sad day when they retire.”

Between them, Nadal and Djokovic have won 14 of the last 16 majors and Djokovic can make that 15-of-17 on Sunday.

Kyrgios, meantime, can forever etch his name in the history books with his first major title and can reverse the reputation he has developed as a supremely talented player who simply does not train hard enough or care enough about winning to compete for major titles. He had never been past the quarterfinals of any major before this run.

“I don’t know if my relationship with tennis changed but I know I love to compete,” he said. “I’m one of the most competitive people that I know. I love the win/lose part of the sport. I’m ready for the challenge.”

He added: “If I lift a Grand Slam trophy, please don’t put pressure on me to win another one.”