Chronicle Djokovic does his best to hold Kyrgios in the final
"My dear, this is your gift," said Novak Djokovic showing the champion's cup to his wife Jelena, smiling in the stands, accompanied by their daughter Tara.
Both were married on July 14, 2014, but when asked at the foot of the court about the proximity of the eighth wedding anniversary, the already seven-time champion of the tournament and holder of 21 Grand Slam titles gave him the trophy.
It is the first
major
since a year ago, when he won on these same tracks.
It is the fourth Wimbledon in a row, which he achieved after beating Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3), in three hours of a beautiful final.
Absent from the Australian Open after a stormy sequence of several days trying to play the tournament without vaccinating against covid and eliminated by
Rafael Nadal
in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, Nole is back in the race for eternity, already with a big one more than
Roger Federer
and only one of the Spaniard, persecuted by fatality in this edition, forced to withdraw due to an abdominal injury that did not prevent him from making arrests to defeat
Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals
.
"Everything that happened after the Australian Open was an emotional challenge.
It was not an easy chapter to close.
Everybody reminded me.
There was a lot of turbulence inside me.
I knew I would need time to recover, but the game was there.
I know what my qualities are.
Rome [where he won his first title of the year] and Paris made me available to compete," Djokovic said.
"Nick, you'll be back!" he told his worthy opponent after the Australian confessed to being "exhausted" and replying "absolutely not" when asked if he was hungry for more Grand Slam finals.
Kyrgios 30 Aces
It was the first one he played, and he did it worthy and competitive, only destabilizing in two key moments: when he had four break balls to recover the lost serve in the second set and, already in the third, when he gave up his serve after having 40-0 favorable to equal five and lost the set.
Until then he had been a good competitor.
And he was again in a quarter quarter where he only collapsed in the final tiebreaker.
Kyrgios showed his best for much of the final.
He served with a knife between his teeth, hitting
30 aces
, to bring his record to 150 throughout the best tournament of his life.
He demanded a serious, firm, consistent Djokovic to finish giving up.
After two hesitant matches, particularly in the quarterfinals, when he had to lift two sets against
Jannik Sinner
, Nole took flight to win the fourth consecutive title on tracks where he has not lost since July 12, 2017, when he retired injured against
Tomas Berdych
in the quarterfinals.
Without being a specialist on grass, he already has as many titles as
William Renshaw
and
Pete Sampras
, second only to Roger Federer, eight times champion.
Only the Swiss, who won the tournament five times between 2003 and 2007, and
Bjorn Borg
, who also had an unblemished five years between 1976 and 1980, have a longer sequence of victories.
Although he has nine titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon has become his favorite tournament for Nole.
It was redemption territory when he made it his own in 2018, ending a stormy period where, plagued by injuries, he even considered retirement.
«Then I won it again, after that elbow injury.
It is no coincidence that this tournament has such relevance in my career », he told the media.
The loss to Medvedev
He projected him a year later, with the victory against Federer in the final in the supertiebreak, once previously neutralized two match points to the rest.
And he now places him back in the center of the stage.
Djokovic, who was one match away from becoming the third man to win all four majors in the same year, the first since
Rod Laver
in 1969, began with a loss to
Daniil Medvedev
in the last Open final. United States a delicate cycle that had its critical point in the aforementioned Australian Open.
Wimbledon has come to his aid again.
He withstood the initial push of an unleashed Kyrgios, who broke serve in game six and added uncertainty to an exciting final, well played by both.
It took a very stable Nole who was determined to take risks, particularly when it came to opening the court with his backhand, to disable the Canberra player, brilliant, creative, with the dispensary of surprises that make him a blessing for this sport.
Relegated to seventh place in the rankings due to the fact that the tournament was played without awarding points as a response from the ATP to Wimbledon's decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian tennis players, Djokovic will not step back to try to play, as of 29 the US Open in August.
“I am not vaccinated nor am I going to be vaccinated.
The only good news I can hope for is some exemption, but I don't know if it's a realistic option," he said.
Conforms to The Trust Project criteria
Know more
tennis
Novak Djokovic