Kyrgios pulls underarm serve as he takes first set from Djoker
Nick Kyrgios is playing lights out tennis and has taken the first set against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. The entertainer is on full display. So can he win? FOLLOW LIVE
Nick Kyrgios is playing lights out tennis and has taken the first set against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. The entertainer is on full display. So can he win?
There’s a huge unpredictability to tonight’s blockbuster clash; can Nick stop Djoker, how will the crowd react and will Nick behave himself?
It’s a fascinating match up with huge implications whatever the result.
Kyrgios pulled out the underarm serve early on as he took a commanding lead with the first set against Djokovic who had no response to the Aussies incredible service game.
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Kyrgios* 6-4 Djokovic
Djoker has started using the slice which is never a good idea against NK, gives the Aussie way too much control on the game. But Djoker has battled his way back into things at 30-30, a sniff of a chance for the Serb, his only of the match so far but no sooner do I write that does NK set himself up with set point.
But it goes begging and it’s the first deuce of the match, a bloody belter of a first serve to take advantage…a banger and Nick starting to get vocal and an ACE TO WIN THE FIRST SET
Kyrgios 5-4 Djokovic*
Now I’m a big fan of Nick, but “Kyrgios serving for the first set” is not something I expected to be typing 37 minutes into the opening set. Terrific masterclass of a performance from the Aussie thus far. So can he close it out?
Kyrgios* 5-3 Djokovic
Under a minute for that sewrvice game. Incredible from NK.
I’m also just seeing that Djoker has never broken NK. Now would be the ultimate time for him to start. Nick has dropped just two points on serve this set.
Kyrgios 4-3 Djokovic*
It’s a similar story on the other side of the net this game, I think that’s the first time Djoker has held to love, and man did he need that.As an aside, I will say, I know it’s England and “it’s never hot here”. But it truly is today. I’me five stories up in a Victorian terrace and it’s like a bloody sauna. Centre Court I would imagine is like a cauldron.
Kyrgios* 4-2 Djokovic
83% first serve in from NK and that was another case of blink and you miss it. Holds to love and pressure mounting on Djoker.
Kyrgios 3-2 Djokovic*
A half chance presents itself for NK very early on here, 15-30 to the Aussie and forcing a second serve from Djoker and a STUNNING approach sets NK up with two break points. Short ball in, Djoker off balance and killed it down the line.
Misses the first, Djoker’s defence was quality BUT HE GETS THE SECOND WITH A DOUBLE FAULT!
Kyrgios* 2-2 Djokovic
Monstrous serves from NK, brutal, precise and destructive. Smack, bang and wallop. Blink and you miss it his service game is over. Clinical
Kyrgios 1-2 Djokovic*
“The Australian looks like he’s having a lovely time” says Tim Henman. I mean it’s closing into 30 degrees, lovely isnt the word I would choose but he is playing smart.
A cleaner hold from Djoker this time but all his serves are going to the NK forehand.
Kyrgios* 1-1 Djokovic
Stunning display, great shot variation again from Nick, slice for slice and then into the drop shot. Pulled Djoker so far in and executed the winner to perfection. Very smart from Nick so far.
And oiut comes the underarm serve! Doesn’t outsmart Djoker though and gifts the Serb his first point in this game. Wimbledon crowd doesn’t know what to do with themselves.
A small stutter as Nick holds, looked like Djoker’s ball was out, was not. nick recovered to hold.
Kyrgios 0-1 Djokovic*
Interesting call from Nick to receive despite winning the toss. Great stat for you here is that Djoker has not lost on this court since 2013.
Also of note., Nick playing by the rules today and has come on court in his white shoes – per the rules to the MAMs will be thrilled.
Great shot variation from Nick in the early points, pulling Djoker all over the place and playing the patience game.
Djoker holds first service game but pushed to 30
11pm PLAYERS ON COURT, IT’S ALMOST GO TIME
Feels like a good time to let you all know that I’m not a fan of Novak and this blog is likely to be very pro Kyrgios. Also feel like I should share that as you all struggle to keep your eyelids open in Australia I feel you. Jetlag plus live coverage is not something I’m familiar with….let’s keep the coffee brewing and get through this together.
Am fairly condfident we’re here for at least 3.5 hours. It will be worth it gang, this is going to be pure entertainment. No doubt.
What are we all thiking? I’m going Nick in four sets but I think that’s my heart over my head.
Nick’s serve will be his weapon but it’s coming up against the greatest returner in the game.
My greatest concern for Nick is that he hasn’t played in five days. For many that sounds like a blessing, in tennis, so often it’s a curse.
Here’s what Pat Cash had to say: “We don’t know what to expect today it could be a car crash/train wreck, we know how one will play we dont know how the other will having had 5 days off.
“It’s an unusual tournament this year, there’s an opportunity for someone to come through. We always have known Nick had the potential. When I first saw Nick, I was in Canberra, the coach said come check him out, and he was doing all these trick shots and messing around. He developed his skills from there.”
10:45PM MCENROE BACKS NK
How’s this for a big ups….John McEnroe has changed his pre-match prediction to back Kyrgios and given us yet another MAM (middle aged man) opinion on Nick’s behaviour.
“Im trying to remember the last time I was this excited about a men’s final,” McEnroe said on the BBC.
“The gods are with Nick, that finally at 27 he realises this is a great way to make a living and it feels good to make an effort consistently. We are seeing what happens when he cares. How many times will he say I dont give a bleep about being on court.
“In some ways it feels like he knows exactly what he is doing.
“Isner, Karlovic, Raonic and Kyrgios, you’re talking about the all-time greatest servers in the history of the game. In this heat, Nick’s serve is coming in big time. I picked Novak for the win before, but I’m changing and I’m going Kyrgios in five.”
10:35PM WHO IS WHO ON CENTRE COURT
Kyrgios is walking out in front of lietral royalty and tennis royalty this evening.
Names that are in the stands include:
Rod Laver
John Newcombe
Chris Evert
Mark Woodforde
Craig Tiley
Jayne Hrdlicka
Oh and HRH The Duchess of Cambridge
10:25PM Nick has to learn to live with this success
Todd Woodbridge, while thrilled to see an Aussie in the final, he’s made a pitiful attempt to defend comments from the likes of Pat Cash and other old Aussies that have had a crack at Nick in recent days.
They’ve all been downright rude about a kid that quite frankly doesn’t care what they think.
Woodbridge “just hopes Nick brings the Aussie character today”. Whatever that means.
“At home Nick is 50-50, you like him or you dont want him to win,” Woodbriegde said, You hope he brings the Aussie character. If he wins today he has to learn to cope with the burden of being a big figure.”
End of the day, Nick doesn’t care what they think, and to be honest neither do I.
Kyrgios does things his way and nothing will change that it seems. The sooner everyone with an opinion understabnds that the sooner we can stop having the same debate about the guy.
‘F***ING IDIOT’: BAD BLOOD KYRGIOS COULD REGRET IN WIMBLEDON FINAL
The chair umpire for Sunday’s Wimbledon final between Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic has been revealed – and it may not be good news for the feisty Australian if he misbehaves because they’ve got history.
Wimbledon officials have announced that Frenchman Renaud Lichtenstein will officiate in the men’s singles championship match on centre court.
He’s the same umpire Kyrgios once called “stupid” and a “f***ing idiot” after a blow up at the 2020 Australian Open.
Unaware that Kyrgios had sliced open his hand after falling on court, Lichtenstein issued a code violation against the Australian for taking too long between serves.
And Kyrgios went nuts – unloading a barrage of complaints against the official.
“My hand is bleeding. My hand is bleeding. What do you want me to do? … There’s blood all over the towel. I told the ball kid not to touch it,” he said
“What are you, stupid? Can you not see? Well, take it back then. Why do I get a time violation? My hand’s bleeding.”
Kyrgios continued his rant, dropping the f-bomb and telling the umpire “Don’t look at me, do your job.”
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Lichtenstein has been in rows with other leading players and is regarded as a no-nonsense official.
The 41-year-old is one of the most experienced chair umpires in the game.
He has been in charge of four previous grand slam finals, as well as three year-end ATP Finals, Davis Cups and Billie Jean King Cup ties around the world plus the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012.
Like Kyrgios, this is first time at the Wimbledon final.
Kyrgios’ staggering earning potential revealed
—Todd Balym
Nick Kyrgios is set to become one of Australia’s richest athletes with victory in the Wimbledon final to send his annual earnings skyrocketing into the “tens of millions.”
While NBA star Ben Simmons and F1 star Daniel Ricciardo are believed to be the highest income earners in Australian sport pulling in more than $30m a year, Kyrgios has the potential to challenge that title if not exceed it.
Kyrgios will pocket $3.5m if he defeats Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s Wimbledon final – a feat that would almost certainly trigger bonuses in his lucrative contracts with Nike, Yonnex and Beats to name a few.
But it’s the stampede of businesses that will soon want a piece of the Kyrgios action should he win that will really boost his earning capacity.
And it’s not just that he will become Australia’s first men’s grand slam champion since Lleyton Hewitt 20 years ago, but it’s because of the generation of fans who adore his persona despite his behaviour often upsetting tennis traditionalists.
“You want someone who captures that under 25 and under 30 market they are worth gold,” publicist Max Markson said.
“When you sponsor someone like Nick Kyrgios, you know what you’re getting into.
“The youth market people are the ones you want, the young people love him and they are the ones with disposable income.
“He will be making tens of millions moving forward.”
While Ash Barty stunned the world when she retired after her Australian Open triumphed aged just 26, Markson doesn’t expect 27-year-old Kyrgios to simply walk away after achieving grand slam success.
Not while he is living his life his way, ignoring the norm of the tour grind but finding a recipe for success that works just for him.
“He won’t be giving up tennis like Ash Barty,” he said.
“He is not doing this for the money, he does it because he enjoys playing the sport.”
Regardless of the final result with Djokovic, Kyrgios will still be a man in demand moving forward.
With 2.6m Instagram followers and a guaranteed wildcard entry to any tournament anywhere in the world due to his booming popularity and ability to put bums on seats, the Aussie star will never have to worry about money for the rest of his life.
Nor hair, because if the time comes he has an offer to follow in the footsteps of Aussie legends Shane Warne and Pat Cash.
“We just signed Pat Cash to Advanced Hair Studio,” Markson said.
“As soon as Nick Kyrgios needs hair, he can take Pat Cash and Shane Warne’s job and he will have hair for life.”
MEN’S FINAL TALE OF THE TAPE
NICK KYRGIOS v NOVAK DJOKOVIC
SUNDAY, 11PM
NICK KYRGIOS (Australia)
Rank: 40
Age: 27
Height: 193cm
Career win/loss: 184/109
Career titles: 6
Career prizemoney: $9,905,710
Best Wimbledon result: F (2022)
Best grand slam result: F Wimbledon (2022)
Path to the final
SF: d. 2-Rafael Nadal (Esp) walkover
QF: d. Cristian Garin (Cro) 6-4 6-3 7-6 (5) (2hrs 13mins)
R4: d. Brandon Nakashima (USA) 4-6 6-4 7-6 (2) 3-6 6-2 (3hrs 11mins)
R3: d. 4-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gr) 6-7 (2) 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7) (3hrs 17 mins)
R2: d. 26-Filip Krajinovic (Ser) 6-2 6-3 6-1 (1hr 25 mins)
R1: d. Paul Jubb (GB) 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-7 (3) 7-5 (3hrs 5mins)
Total time on court: 13hr 11min
NOVAK DJOKOVIC (Serbia)
Rank: 3
Age: 35
Height: 188cm
Career win/loss: 1006/204
Career titles: 87
Career prizemoney: $156,541,453
Best Wimbledon result: Won (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021)
Best grand slam result: Won 20 times: Australian Open (2008, 2011-2013, 2015, 2016, 2019-2021), French Open (2016, 2021), Wimbledon (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021), US Open (2011, 2015, 2018)
Path to the final
SF: d. 9-Cameron Norrie (GB) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 (2hrs 35mins)
QF: d. 10-Jannik Sinner (Ita) 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 (3hrs 35mins)
R4: d. Tim van Rijthoven (Ned) 6-2 4-6 6-1 6-2 (2hrs 39mins)
R3: d. Miomir Kecmanovic (Ser) 6-0 6-3 6-4 (1hr 53mins)
R2: d. Thanasi Kokkinakis (Aus) 6-1 6-4 6-2 (2hrs)
R1: d. Soonwoo Kwon (Kor) 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 (2hrs 27mins)
Total time on court: 15hr 15min
HEAD TO HEAD: Kyrgios 2, Djokovic 0
2017 ATP Masters Indian Wells: Kyrgios 6-4 7-6 (3)
2017 Acapulco: Kyrgios 7-6 (9) 7-5
Originally published as Nick Kyrgios v Novak Djokovic: Wimbledon final live score and commentary
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