Novak Djokovic Tops Nick Kyrgios for Fourth Straight Wimbledon Championship

The Serbian earned his 21st major title in a tight four-set match vs. Kyrgios.

Novak Djokovic secured his 21st Grand Slam title on Sunday after beating Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 in the Wimbledon men’s singles final. This marks his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.

For the 7th time, Novak Djokovic is the last man standing on Centre Court #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/5yMIKxFTc5

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 10, 2022

The Serbian still trails Rafael Nadal, who has 22 Grand Slam titles, for the most major titles in men’s tennis history. This was Djokovic’s first Grand Slam win since last year’s Wimbledon.

Other than the Grand Slam historical context of this match, this win also marks the first time Djokovic has beat Kyrgios in his career. The Australian won their previous two meetings, both of which came in 2017.

Kyrgios took the first set thanks to his strong service game and the first break of the match. However, Djokovic responded well, winning the next two sets as Kyrgios failed to break Djokovic again. Then, when neither player could execute a break in the fourth set, Djokovic prevailed in the tiebreaker 7-3 to secure the title.

The two opponents bet each other on their Instagram stories Saturday that whoever won would pay for the other’s dinner. It looks like Djokovic will be paying for Kyrgios’s bill.

The former World No. 1 overcame two close battles to reach the final. In the quarterfinals, he trailed Jannik Sinner by two sets before coming back, and in the semifinals, he trailed Cameron Norrie by one set before eventually winning.

Despite winning the Grand Slam title, he will not earn any ranking points as the ATP stripped ranking points away from Wimbledon after the tournament banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing. Djokovic will remain No. 3 in the world behind Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, both of whom didn’t compete.

• Daily Cover: Inside Kyle Farnsworth’s (Not-Entirely-Unlikely) Pivot From Baseball to Bodybuilding