Novak Djokovic won a seventh Wimbledon title and 21st Grand Slam crown on Sunday with a four-set triumph over Nick Kyrgios.
Novak Djokovic won a seventh Wimbledon title and 21st Grand Slam crown on Sunday with a four-set triumph over Nick Kyrgios, whose challenge angrily unravelled after a blistering start.
Top seed Djokovic won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) to equal Pete Sampras’ mark of seven titles at the All England Club and move within one of the men’s record of eight held by Roger Federer.
The 35-year-old Serb is now one Slam ahead of Federer in the all-time race and just one behind Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 majors.
He is also just the fourth man in the Open era to win four successive Wimbledon titles after Federer, Sampras and Bjorn Borg.
There was a bit of shocking news after the win. Tennis fans are up in arms after Novak Djokovic officially dropped from World No.3 to No.7 one day after winning the Wimbledon title.
This is because the ATP and WTA tours decided to strip Wimbledon of rankings points in retaliation to the All England Club’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
More controversy, Djokovic’s refusal to be vaccinated against coronavirus will bar him from taking part in the US Open next month unless there is a sudden change of policy by the American authorities, who insist only fully vaccinated visitors will be granted entry.
The 2023 Australian Open may also be off-limits following his deportation in January this year over his vaccination status.
Under current Australian law, he is banned for three years from applying for a new visa.
However, under rules introduced by the country’s recently elected government, foreign visitors will no longer have to declare their vaccination status.
Back to the final, Kyrgios raced through the first set, breaking in the fifth game and taking the opener with his seventh ace of the contest.
Novak Djokovic, renowned as the best returner in the game and undefeated at the tournament since 2017, managed to win just four points off the Kyrgios serve.
It was the third match in a row at this Wimbledon that the 35-year-old had dropped the first set.
Djokovic won a lung-busting 23-shot rally in the third game of the second set and immediately broke for a 3-1 lead.
As Kyrgios continued to remonstrate with himself and his supporters, Djokovic strolled to victory, wrapping up the title with a convincing tiebreak.
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