Djokovic isn’t fazed by a deficit — in a game, a set, a match. He doesn’t mind solving problems. And at Wimbledon, for some time now, he is undefeated. Djokovic used his consistent brilliance to beat Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Sunday for a fourth consecutive Wimbledon championship and seventh overall. Top-seeded Djokovic took his unbeaten run at a grass-court Grand Slam to 28 matches and took his career tally to 21 major trophies, breaking a tie with Roger Federer and falling just one behind Rafael Nadal’s 22 for the most in history. of men’s tennis. On the men’s side, only Federer, with eight, has won more Wimbledon titles than Djokovic. In the professional era, only Federer was older (by less than a year) than the 35-year-old Djokovic when he won at the All England Club. His comeback on a sunny afternoon followed those in the quarter-finals, when Djokovic erased a two-set deficit against No. 10 Jannik Sinner, and in the semifinals, when No. 9 Cam Norrie grabbed the opening set. In last year’s Wimbledon title match, Djokovic dropped the opening set. In the 2019 final, he erased two championship points from Federer. There were two standout moments Sunday following Djokovic, ones Kyrgios wouldn’t let go as he began to engage in monologues, yelling at himself or those around him (which doesn’t include a full-time coach), finding reasons to disagree with chair referee (and earns a warning for swearing) and smashing a water bottle. In the second set, with Djokovic serving at 5-3, Kyrgios reached love-40 — a trio of break points. But Kyrgios played some casual returns and Djokovic eventually held. And then, in the third set, with Kyrgios serving at 4-all, 40-love, he again let a seemingly sealed game slip away, with Djokovic breaking. The 40th-ranked Kyrgios was looking to become the first men’s Wimbledon champion since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. Ivanisevic is now Djokovic’s coach and was on the Center court for the match. Kyrgios is a 27-year-old Australian who had never advanced past the quarterfinals in 29 previous Grand Slam appearances — and last got that far 7 1/2 years ago. He kind of stole the show on Sunday. He tried a shot between his legs. He hit a few with his back to the net. Pounded serves up to 136 mph and served 30 aces. I used an underarm serve and then faked one later.
