Back in the middle of the week, tennis fans were counting on a meeting between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the final of the Wimbledon tournament.
Two legends settled down in different halves of the grid and systematically moved towards each other.
However, the Spaniard's injury prevented them from getting together.
Due to a torn abdominal muscle, he was forced to withdraw from the semifinal match against Nick Kyrgios.
Thus, the Australian quite unexpectedly made his way into the decisive confrontation, whose highest achievement in the majors had previously been the quarterfinals.
He reached this stage in London in 2014, and a year later - at the Australian Open.
Since then, he has been content with the fourth round of TBSH at most.
However, it remained a mystery whether Kyrgios would be able to impose a fight on Djokovic, because he won trophies at ATP tournaments exclusively on hard.
And in general, the Australian is known on the tour not so much for his game, but for his aggressive unsportsmanlike behavior.
Often he is called the main showman of the world of tennis, because almost every time he enters the court is accompanied by some trick.
Arguing with referees, provoking opponents, shouting at fans, throwing rackets - all this has become familiar in Nick's performance.
He does not behave much better off the court either: the player is now accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari, this case will be heard in court in early August.
However, this time the Canberran native came into the competition in great shape and managed to jump over his head.
In particular, he managed to knock out Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is in the top 5 ATP rankings, from the fight.
It is noteworthy that Kyrgios was the lowest-ranked athlete to reach the final of the Grand Slam tournament since 2008.
Before the game, Nick was only 40th.
On the one hand, the most experienced Djokovic, who had the opportunity to win the 21st major in his career, was considered a clear favorite.
On the other hand, there was no pressure on the opponent.
Moreover, the statistics of face-to-face meetings was on his side.
Opponents have crossed only twice until today, and in both cases, the Australian turned out to be stronger, who outplayed the Serb in Indian Wells and Acapulco in 2017.
Moreover, Novak failed to take a single set from Nick.
Moreover, Nole did not look so powerful this year.
Despite not facing any of the top 10 opponents, Djokovic had some tough fights.
For example, in the quarterfinals, he miraculously escaped from the defeat of Yannick Sinner, losing 0:2 in sets.
The difficult history of personal relationships gave additional intrigue to the final confrontation.
At first, the Serb treated the young athlete positively and tried to help him.
However, then he made a number of unpleasant remarks about one of the best tennis players on the planet.
In particular, he accused him of wanting to please everyone, severely criticized him for non-compliance with epidemiological rules during the coronavirus pandemic, called him stupid and even mockingly parodied on the court.
Everything changed dramatically at the beginning of the year, when Kyrgios publicly supported a colleague who was not admitted to the Australian Open.
And just before the final, the rivals were marked by funny correspondence in social networks.
The Serb complained that it took his opponent five years to say something nice to him, and then offered to go to dinner with the condition that the winner pay for it.
The Australian agreed and promised to visit a nightclub with a veteran of the ATP tour.
However, there was no trace of the friendliness of the athletes on the court.
From the first minutes they began to test each other with powerful blows.
Kiryos in this "shootout" looked preferable.
And most importantly, he immediately demonstrated that he did not intend to put up with the role of an underdog.
Nick expectedly made a bet on his strongest side - the serve.
As a result, in the first set, he made seven aces against five of the opponent and won 80% of the balls with the first serve and 83% with the second.
The key moment came in the fifth game, when the Australian made a break.
He took advantage of the mistakes of the favorite, who seemed to be out of his element.
So, Nole gave the decisive point by making a double blot.
The Australian, on the contrary, acted uninhibitedly and collectedly.
It is significant that he almost did not talk to the opponent and the referee, but was focused on the game.
As a result, the 40th racket of the planet, at the first opportunity, filed for a set - 6:4.
In the second game, the favorite came to his senses and began to act much more confidently and boldly.
It was especially difficult for the opponent in protracted draws, which, as a rule, ended in his defeats.
Not even rescued filing.
The percentage of hits dropped sharply, and Djokovic quickly made a debut break and took the lead - 3:1.
However, Kiryos had a chance to escape.
In the very next game, he almost made a return break, but lost on the balance sheet, although he could tip the scales in his favor.
But Nick missed the most obvious opportunity in the eighth game with the score 3:5.
The Australian on the blots of a venerable opponent earned a triple break point.
But at the moment when it was required to simply put an end to it, the underdog got nervous.
First, he sent the ball into the net, then shot into touch and allowed Nola to recoup.
Emotions immediately burst out.
The Australian began to argue loudly with the people supporting him on the podium, and the judge even had to call him to order.
The calmer Novak, without making any extra effort, took the game on the balance sheet and restored the status quo on the scoreboard.
Djokovic continued to dominate in the third set.
He easily took his own pitch, and at the reception he always imposed a fight on his opponent.
He managed to bring the first three games to a balance, but at the last moment Kiryos still got together and took over.
However, the excessive emotions that Nick managed to restrain at the beginning of the confrontation increasingly broke out, interfering with him.
After the seventh game, when he almost lost, he began to complain to the referee about the behavior of the fans, who allegedly prevented him from putting the ball into play.
In the end, excessive impulsiveness nevertheless ruined the Australian, since it is difficult to explain his defeat in the end with anything else.
He led 40-0 on his serve, but allowed the opponent to bounce back and make a break.
Moreover, the 40th racket of the planet himself made gross mistakes, which the favorite could only use.
After this, Nole simply had no right not to file for the game - 6:4.
It seemed that the demoralized Kiryos could easily give up the next set, but he gathered himself and again focused on the game, practically not allowing himself unnecessary shouting.
The main thing is that Nick again stabilized the pitch.
As a result, he managed to score 29 aces per match against 15 from the Serb.
However, Djokovic did not miss his own either and took three games to zero.
It became obvious that the fate of the confrontation will be determined in a tie-break.
And there the Australian with his filing had a good chance of success.
But at the decisive moment, the 27-year-old athlete faltered again, while the Serb remained calm.
Kiryos immediately allowed a double, after which, as in the third set, everything fell out of his hands.
With the score 1:6, Nick managed to win back two match points, but this did not save him.
The third racket of the planet, as expected, turned out to be stronger and won the 21st TBSH in his career.
According to this indicator, he bypassed Roger Federer (20) and got close to Nadala (22).
Serb for the seventh time excelled at Wimbledon.
Moreover, he managed to defend the title, because last year he beat Matteo Berrettini in the final.
After the end of the meeting, the opponents again showed absolute respect for each other.
Nole congratulated the Australian and his team on a great tournament and expressed confidence that now he will be regularly seen in the later stages of the TSH.
In turn, Kiryos compared Novak to God and even apologized to the judge, with whom he regularly got into skirmishes.