Expert picks are back for the Wimbledon men’s singles championship match between Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday afternoon. A two-team panel previews the highly-anticipated action and makes its predictions.
Ricky Dimon: A lot of tennis fans will complain about this matchup in terms of not wanting either guy to win. After all, these are generally considered to be two villains of the sport. However, there is no denying that in terms of actual tennis this is a fascinating matchup. Djokovic is the best returner in the world; Kyrgios is probably one of the two best servers in the world. Grass generally favors servers over returners, but everyone is well aware that Djokovic is the three-time defending champion at Wimbledon and a six-time winner overall. Both of these men are awesome on the green stuff. Thus a high-quality, highly competitive contest can be expected.
Although the Serb is a huge favorite, arguments can be made for Kyrgios. When he is motivated, he is one of the best all-around players on tour. It’s safe to say in a Grand Slam final against an all-time great this will be the most motivated he has ever been. Kyrgios played two focused, no-nonsense matches in the fourth round and quarterfinals before getting a walkover from Rafael Nadal. He is confident and also well rested. Djokovic has been nowhere near his best the entire tournament. That’s why I think it will be competitive. But I don’t think Kyrgios will win. Keep in mind that Djokovic was nowhere near his best at the 2021 Australian Open and 2021 French Open and he won both of those tournaments. The 20-time major champion lost to Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 U.S. Open final because the calendar-year slam pressure was too much, but otherwise the Big 3 have almost always owned non-Big 3 players at majors. Look for Kyrgios to join the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner (and also Lorenzo Musetti and Taylor Fritz) as players who could have and maybe even should have defeated Djokovic only to get outclassed mentally in the end. Djokovic in 5: 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(7).
Cheryl Murray: Djokovic has never beaten Kyrgios (0-2 lifetime), Kyrgios has never come within spitting distance of a major title. Sunday is going to be a first for one of them. The matchup actually favors Kyrgios for a couple of reasons. First, he isn’t afraid of Djokovic in the least. His game — when he’s in top form — seems to be a bit much for the Serb. Second, Kyrgios’ serve (when it’s on) somewhat neutralizes Djokovic’s return, which is one of his greatest weapons. The surface is a wash; it’s usually a tick in Djokovic’s column, but Kyrgios is at his best on the lawns — so playing on grass probably isn’t an advantage for either player. And there is the small matter that Djokovic hasn’t been at his best all tournament.
What doesn’t favor Kyrgios is the pressure that comes with competing for a Grand Slam title. The Aussie has never even won a Masters 1000 event, much less a major. As we have seen with Stefanos Tsitsipas at the French Open last year and Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open earlier this season, the pressure of the big moment is sometimes overwhelming. This is a winnable match for Kyrgios; whether he does it or not will largely depend on whether his occasional (frequent?) disdain for Djokovic overrides the pressure. I’m going out on a limb. Kyrgios in 4: 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
WWW?
This could play out in so many different, and unpredictable ways….but I’ll take Kyrios in an entertaining 4.
As I say two days ago, Novaxxx in 4
It’s funny that the crowd booed when kyrgios was mentioned in both Novaxx’s and Rafa’s last on court interviews yet will be firmly behind him on Sunday! 😛
Go get him Nick
Here we have the classic Novak/Fed hater
Nick said he’s nervous about the final. He may have the weapons to beat Djoko, but he hasn’t the experience to play in a slam final, so perhaps nervousness may do him in, in his first ever final, more so when it’s Djoko across the net.
Kyrgios must win the first set to have a chance to win the match; if Djoko has gotten the head start, it’ll be even tougher for a nervous Kyrgios to get a win.
It’s obvious Kyrgios cares about winning a slam, especially when it’s Wimbledon. I just hope that he could calm down, concentrates on the match and gives his best in the final.
As for Djoko, he hasn’t played his best tennis this Wimbledon, but it’s a final, so I expect him to do his best by hook or by crook, to be the one to cross over the finish line.
I think it’ll go five sets if Kyrgios wins the first set; four sets if Djoko wins the first set.
Djoko to win in four sets; if it goes to five sets, Kyrgios will have a chance to win it in the end, a 40:60 chance for him.
We’ll have to see a new Kyrgios here- Wimby final , even the bad boys have to behave. No sledge please, we British
“his occasional (frequent?) disdain” – Cheryl Murray I believe this your projected disdain for Novak since tennistalk.com days.
This really depends on the intensity Novak goes out with. If he goes out flat like vs Sinner and Norrie than Nick will capitalize on it, for sure. It will be a tough match, probably a coin toss. Whoever wins it, is a much better scenario than some clay specialist undeservingly lifting the most prestigious trophy.
Oh boy! Your bias is showing big time! Unbelievable that you would have someone like Kyrgios, who spits at players and spectators, verbally abuses and bullies chair umpires and lines people. He has been charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend. He cheated to beat Tsitsipas.
Great choice! I would take the clay court specialist with 14 RG titles and 22 slams any day of the week over either of these finalists.
The same clay specialist who has a better record than Novak at the USO even though Novak is supposed to be the goat on hard courts?!
Strange how people like to ignore this inconvenient fact and how it puts ???? next to that narrative.
Why bring that up now?
Novak has been majestic in every match. There was never a doubt that he would make the final. On the other side, I am sorry it’s not Rafa.
Kyrgios can win, and I do take his tennis skills seriously. One person in the bracket challenge did pick Kyrgios to win; we shall see how Nick does. I wish him luck.]
Im quite happy whoever wins though Id prefer Djoko . Its a completely different Slam final from what we’re used to seeing and I welcome that. Flat hitting and trick shots are just what the doctor ordered .
Ive just been doing picks for Newport another tournie I love for similar reason. Its Bublik ,Gojowczyk and Cressy territory . Its a classy tournament and deserves to be a 500 at least.
Wimby final first though – Djoko in five .
Djoko wasn’t majestic, but how often he needed to be majestic to beat his opponents and then won the slams? And, especially at Wimbledon?
He simply grinded his way through his matches when he had to go five sets; and he even didn’t play very well and yet beat the grass court specialist to win his 5th Wimbledon when he even had to face Championship point!
Let’s see what Kyrgios could bring to the table this coming Sunday, enough to beat the not so majestic Djoko, when the grass court specialist couldn’t do it not once but thrice?
You LS, and most of you see his tennis differently than I do. He is well-balanced, exquisitely flexible, and able to out-think most opponents on the court.
I believe you take pleasure in attacking not only me but anyone else that is not in groupthink.
I hope all of you can enjoy the lovely WTA final.
Elizabeth, the women’s final just finished – and the new reigning Wimby champ is a woman born in Russia and still living in Moscow! Ups! This demonstrates that the Wimby authorities were foolhardy when they believed that excluding the Russian players was an intelligent move! I despise Putin as much as most of us here, and I can understand that sports events, where the athlets represent their countries, Russians are not allowed to participate. But IMO tennis is a bit different. The players only represent their countries at the Olympics and Davis Cup and most fans do not care about the nationality of their favorite players at all. I really do not think that excluding Medvedev et. al. was a helpful statement.
While Jabeur as Wimby champion woould have been nice, I have no problems with Rybakina, and I actually suspected that her tall height and her power tennis might be able to cause immense problems for Jabeur. I am ok with the win, though.
Thank you for your reply, littlefoot.
I agree, mostly. Some Ukrainian players are grateful for the Russian ban, and I can also see their point. Ryabakina switching to Kazakhstan is something I did not know about until Wimbledon. She has played as a Russian, and I don’t blame her for changing to Kazakhstan.
It doesn’t feel fair that the Russian players are banned until I put myself in Ukrainian shoes.
The US will likely turn a blind eye without hesitation; I don’t know. If Putin goes after Poland or a Baltic state, that would be an escalation of the magnitude I doubt we can ignore.
Marta Kostyuk was very happy with the Russian ban. I can see her point too. She also posted a video from Ilya Marchenko, which was in agreement with the Russian ban
I should add that any escalation toward taking Kyiv and the whole of Ukraine would be too much. I have no idea what Putin has in mind.
Elizabeth, no one knows where the war will take us. It’s frightening to even contemplate! And here in Germany it feels not that far away. We have already many Ukrainean refugees here. We even had a 17 year old girl live in the apartment next to ours for a few weeks. My husband is a physicist and he has many Russian collegues and many of them are our friends. All projects are on hold right now, and we do not communicate with them in a meaningful way, because we do not want to endanger them. But we know that they all hate Putin. They have actually warned us many years ago!
Elizabeth, i have two souls in my breast as far as the ban of Russian players is concerned. It’s true that Putin loves to associate himself with successful athlets, and that he should not get this opportunity. But professional tennis is very different in that aspect, and while I believe that the Ukraine should get as much help as possible, IMO banning Russian tennis players does not really accomplish a lot. And while the Ukrainian players might have found the ban helpful, they need to live side by side with Russian people anyway, and while it may be hard, it’s a reality they have to face. The Russian players are their opponents but not their enemies. And none of the Russian players has ever endorsed Putin or the war.
Something else: I have written a lot of harsh things about the Djoker and I mean them. But this has nothing whatsoever to do with you and your fandom. That is your privatte choice and I respect that.
Elizabeth, yes groupthink is pretty bad on here. They complain about attacks on their favourite player -fine when he’s winning, yet read some of the comments here and see any evidence of double standards?
Lucky,
You said exactly what I was going to say! Majestic? In what universe! Try mediocre! Novak has had cupcake draws at both RG and Wimbledon. Was he majestic when he went down two sets to Sinner?
Was he majestic against Rafa in the quarterfinals at RG? He won one title this year. Rome.
I don’t know if I will even be able to watch the final, since I dislike both of them. It might be interesting to see what Kyrgios does. Will he keep it together or lose it? You never know with him.
Meh, you can read about it or watch high and/or low lights later. Why waste 3+ hours of your life?
If ever a slam deserved an asterisk this one does between Putin, England and the ATP. Add in a whole lot of young and not so young players that either have no clue how to play five sets or how to play on grass and keep waiting for the top guns to retire. And then there’s coronavirus, taking out players who do know how to play on grass, like Berretini and Cilic. Btw Martina Navratilova also went down with covid. That’s why she wasn’t at the 100 year celebration. What a horrible way to “celebrate” Wimbledon’s hundred years this final will be.
Thank you. I am in complete agreement with you. I will not waste three+ hours of my life on this travesty.
It does deserve an asterisk. What a train wreck! Losing players like Berrrtini, Cilic and Roberto Bautista Agut was a shame. Not letting the Russians play was really unfortunate. They did not start that war.
I heard about Martina getting Covid. It was too bad she could not participate.
Your last sentence sums it all up. I have not expressed my feelings about this final. I don’t know that I could find appropriate words in the English language.
Wimbledon couldn’t have asked for a better matchup tennis wise to celebrate its Centenary final!
And no it doesn’t need any asterisk. The 3 time defending champion and the man who won the 1st 2 GS of this season, both were participating. That’s definitely better than the GS where the 3 time defending champion and the best player on tour wasn’t allowed to participate, no?
Spot on.
Are you referring to the AO? You know, the one where Novak decided to try and play even though the rules required the players to be vaccinated. You know, the Covid pandemic? The virus that has killed millions of people? Or is it that you just don’t care.
Mnovak dud not play becayse he was not vaccinated. Or should we make exceptions for those who refuse to play by the rules? Or falsify their visa? He would not get vaccinated and therefore, he had to leave the country. The only one who prevented Novak from playing was himself.
Hmm
So playing the clay goat in QF’s is a cupcake draw?
That’s a new one.
I don’t know why people even bother about Novak’s draw at Wimbledon. He isn’t playing majestic. Nor does he have to. When his 2 greatest rivals couldn’t beat him playing arguably their best match ever on Grass Court (Wimby’15 F, SF’18 & F’19), You expect the arguably lesser ones to compete with him and beat him?
The biggest threat to him here was Berretinni, who unfortunately had to withdraw from the draw.
And as far as Cupcake draws go, maybe Nole exhausted his fair share of tough draw last year when he won 3 of the 4 slams and was runner up in one of them.
Yes, he may lose tomorrow’s match. But that still wouldn’t change the fact that he is the best grass court player out there on the tour. And this is coming from a lifelong Federer fan.
Fed is the best grass court player. Always has been. Always will be. Revisionist history won’t change that. The draw was a cupcake until Novak met Rafa in the quarterfinals. I well remember his fans coming here a day or two early to trash Rafa’s chances. Novak was not up to it in that match. Rafa was battle tested in the match with Felix.
What I really hold against Novak is the circus he created trying to play at the AO. I have always given him credit fir his achievements in tennis. But I truly despised how he tried to get around the rules. And I said so. It was appalling. I am hardly the only one with that opinion.
Thank you for at least being honest enough to admit that he is not playing majestic. He doesn’t have to? Well maybe that’s why he lost to Rafa at RG!
Oh yes, narrow-minded too.
Many of you are blind, as well. There is so much more to tennis than Rafa Only.
I this there are a few of you that get that. This is why Andi Mira won’t come here. I chatted with her.
Meant to say: a few of us get that there is more to Tennis than Rafa only.
Too bad you have to resort to insults.
I said what I think. If you don’t like it too bad.
Nice to throw Andi Mira into the mix. Nasty. Cheap shot.
Wow !! The gloves and masks are off !!
The bile on here right now, talk about asterisks on trophies that was never going to happen at the AO, buty would have happened if Nole has won RG with his cupcake draw , and the hatred for both finalists !!
Theres so few posters on here that are not Rafa Only, Im done trying to have any genuine discussions with them .I dont mind who wins the final.
I wont be “rooting” for either! Mateus where are you 🙁
If only Gorgeous was there to root for! He is not only gorgeous but charming and kind and, astonishingly for one so handsome, seemingly without vanity.
I probably won’t watch the match tomorrow.
Today is different as I really want Ons to win. Go Ons! ( I quite like Rybakina as well..)
Djoker in 4. Kyrgios SHOULD not win. He got a walker and no name players and still he had to go thru 2 five setters. Kyrgios was a much better player 4-5 years ago and there is a high chance that he will disintegrate mentally in the finals.
If kyrgios says he is nervous he has no chance. If he has to have a chance, he needs to be fearless . Call Stan n delpo for their attitude during 2009 uso n 2015 fo
Novak by default.
Mad Nick will probably hit someone with his racket.
I would like Nick in 5.
Djokovic in 4 is what is going to happen most probably.
Im finding it really funny when even so called lifelong Federer fans are saying Djokovic is the best grass courter ..poor fed!!! He is clearly a better grass court player than Djokovic and this is not even debatable . He lost 3 finals but he was off his peak clearly from 2013 ..2012 was fed in good form n djoko at his good peak too n we know what happened there.
I am now seeing a trend with few so called fed fans( small minority ) trying to uphold Novak over rafa or trying to defend Novak by trying to denigrate rafa…maybe they took the innumerable fed losses to Rafa in feds peak more seriously than the innumerable losses of fed to Novak post 2011 when fed was clearly not at his peak .
And yes no slam has an asterisk. Neither ao 22 or wimby 22 or the 25 slams that Rafa did not participate or got injured n withdrew injured. The one holding trophy on the last Sunday is the deserved winner ,everything else is just noise by cultist fandoms
@Sanju, no one here is trying to denigrate Rafa here. Nole deserves respect for what he has achieved, but very few are willing to give it to him. I still rate Federer’s racquet skills to be the highest amongst the 3. He may have lost many important matches to his 2 big rivals based on matchup advantages, but that doesn’t take away his greatness. He will always stay to be the reason I started watching tennis.
But, I have to be objective here. Trust me when I say this,but Federer wasn’t playing any less than his peak years (game wise) in ’15 and ’19. But after hiring Boris in 2014, Nole’s game take a whole different leap. His serve and volleying improved drastically. You can’t compare pre and post 2014 Nole. Post 2014, Nole became a much better player overall. Hence his grass court dominance started.
He sure became a better player on grass 2014 onwards but calling him the best grass court player is a mighty stretch.
N BTW he has not even played that great both in 21 and 22 at wimby ,yet he wins..it speaks a lot more about his opponents than him.
I think you didn’t read it right. I said he is the best out there on the tour so obviously I am not talking about the past.
Also, he played great in the Wimbledon’21 Final when he was pushed to.
He also played very good against Kecmanovic and Sinner(last 3 sets).
The tour is the same for everyone, no?
With so much of hard court tennis going around throughout the season, that is where everyone is honing their skills and the competition has been the toughest for past 15-20 years. This was bound to happen.
If few are willing to give it to him or let’s say not happy for him ,maybe he is responsible for evoking that feeling in many people.
I personally don’t dislike him at all, however he has the harshest n weirdest next level cultist fans whose only job 24*7 is to denigrate fedal ( rafa now primarily as he has more slams)
Haha
Luckily Fed isn’t playing these days. Else, he too wouldn’t have been spared by these cultist fan wars! 🤣
And thanks for saying that no slam deserves an asterisk. Would have appreciated more, if you could have posted the same on the earlier post itself.
I never called any slam asterisk ever..this is just noise that has been going on since start of this year . It was started by Novak fans post ao22 to discredit rafa. No one ever used the word asterisk before for any slam.
Amy ..rafa has to win uso .only him winning uso will ease the pain of having to withdraw from wimby injured .I’m still a bit pained seeing his bad luck at wimby .
I know you are very sad sanju. I am sad as well. Rafa has missed so many slams or been injured that it’s hard not to feel that way.
I absolutely believe he could have won if he hadn’t got injured. And he sure as hell can win the USO.
I like the description above of 2018 as Rafa’s best ever grass court performance. I know that 2008 is an underrated match which people never mention but I thought he was quite good.
He would also have more chance than 2018 of winning because he won’t have to play a match over 2 days with the roof on despite the boiling sunshine.😉😉😉
I mean, any objective tennis fan can see and say that Rafa played his best that he has that day, irrespective of roof or not. But can understand your bias. I don’t think roof would have become a drama, had he won the match. Since Rafa lost the match, that match has been buried in the arguments whenever their rivalry is talked about when, in fact, quality wise its the best match both of them have ever produced from start to finish.
Do you think it’s appropriate to be writing niggling comments about Rafa abhirf when his fans are upset, as so many times, because he is injured? I think you should leave well alone.
Rafa came very close to retiring from the game after RG. Just saying.
I don’t think you are writing from an unbiased and objective place. Arguably there is no such thing in these debates anyway.
Where have I written anything niggling here mate? You were the one who brought up his name, not me ?
You did by trying to discredit his ao 22 win by saying Novak was not allowed to participate. We are not fools to not see through it.
Never discredited that. Was just trying to bring out the bias your fellow posters were showing here.
amy,
I agree. Also I have watched this sport all my life. I don’t need anyone to tell me what to think. I stand by what I said.
Nny, agreed.!!
Sanju,
I know you are gutted by Rafa having to withdraw due to injury. But hang in there! He will come back strong at the USO. Believe me, I am disappointed too. Because like Rafa himself I thought he had a very good chase to win. It’s hard to see him playing so well and having to deal with yet another injury. But he wants to play at the USO.
Stay positive!
Chance*
Amy ,nny my worry is his body is breaking down a lot now. I don’t think any past year he had 3 injuries back to back in a single year ( rib, abdomen ,foot acting up real bad though this condition since 2005). That’s why any missed oppty will be more costly now ,age and body is just not supporting enough.
In uso ,many players play well on hc. It’s not going to be easy. Novak ,med ,zverev ,alcaraz , faa ,bertetini all play well on hc. I am going by the fact that all have made sf ( alcaraz hasn’t but he has won Miami)
If he caught a rib injury which I never ever heard before for a tennis player , you just know it that the body is just breaking down due to years of wear and tear. Hence whatever he has to win ,he needs to in the next 12 months at max. This USO will be key.
But you are not looking at the positive side sanju! Most people said the ablation therapy was a long shot and probably wouldn’t work. But his foot is much better as we could see by how well he moved. That has been Rafa’s biggest problem with Moya saying after RG last year they hadn’t been able to train properly on very many occasions.
If that problem is fixed, Rafa surely will have more chances not only at the USO but next year. I don’t think he is going to keep getting these injuries. They have happened partly because of his being forced to take long periods off. That makes him much more susceptible to injury.
Let’s look at the positives…!😀
Sanju,
I think amy answered you best so I don’t have much to add. We should be grateful that the ablation procedure worked. The foot has been Rafa’s biggest problem. That is why he admitted he was thinking of retiring. But it worked! That gives him more chances. Believe me he will take advantage of it.
Rafa withdrew so he could play at the USO. He is focused on it. Even with all the good hard court players, Rafa has had great success there.
Let’s look ahead to that!
You hang in there!
😘
I have no issue if he lost to a better player on a day ,he did lose at 18 n 19 sf to Novak n fed , however not getting an oppty to go for the title when there are limited opptys left at slams really hurts. If his fans are hurt ,wonder how much hurt he is.
Majestic tennis is what I saw from Novaxx, and I would also use the word exquisite. Accept that I am a Novaxx fan; he has not embarrassed me this time.
Most of you surprise me that you rather have Kyrgios win than Novaxx.
If I only see Krgios tennis and put his on-court spitting and off-court behavior out of sight and out of mind, I can congratulate him if he wins.
To the Wimbledon men’s final. 🍾😌 ☮
I don’t guveca damn who wins. I can’t stand either of them. And I said so. That is how I feel. I am not rooting for Kyrgios to win. Why would I? He is a disgrace to this sport.
I was not fond of Novak saying he wanted revenge on Rafa for losing to him at RG. If you have no problem with p that, so be it. I do. Novak created his own mess by trying to play at the AO when unvaccinated. His visa was false. He blamed his manager. I have a problem with that and so do many others.
Yup. Hide in the crowd of “many others”…
I don’t have to hide. Nivsk was roundly criticized and condemned fir his stance by commentators on ESPN, the tennis channel and even other players.
Quit pretending that anyone has to hide when it comes to the issue of refusing to be vaccinated in a pandemic.
I applaud those who developed the vaccine. In the past vaccines have saved lives and eradicated terrible viruses. Maybe you are ignorant of the polio vaccine? The one that killed children or put them in iron lungs? Or maybe you are just ignorant. There is a lot of that going around.
Rafa fans are complaining that he missed so many chances at Slams because of injury, but whose fault is that? Play a very physical game , it catches up with you. Its like a racing car thats redlined for max performance the downside is it spends a hell of a lot of time having maintenance repair on it.
Whose fault is it? Are you kidding? Rafa has a congenital foot problem that is incurable. Muller Weiss syndrome. Maybe you should look it up before making false judgements about his injuries.
He had to take six months off early in his career when it flared up. They made a special orthotic device for him to wear. This condition put pressure on his knees. That is why he had so much trouble with them.
Comparing Rafa to a car? Really? As I said previously, there is a lot of ignorance going around.
You a medical expert now? It laughable if it wasnt so pathetic.
Rafa has had so many different injuries over the years they cant all be blamed on a congenital thing.
If he has such an underlying condition, why play such
a physical game then? No sense there !
OK , I wont compare him to a car.. not a Rolls Royce, thats Fed territory 🙂 Maybe Bulldozer is more appropriate …Ive heard both comparisons made.
You dont really know much about tennis but see to be obsessed with Rafa – and quite a few grammar /spelling mistakes in your posts.
On another note, please bring back S&V on grass!
You are too ignorant to even bother with anymore. Just a hater. We see trolls often on this site. You are obsessed with hating Rafa. It’s obvious.
Are you done kind of English grammer expert? What a joke! People who come in here to tell lies about Rafa! Don’t you have anything more worthwhile to do in life? I guess not.
I was one of the rare who supported Nick in the beginning of his career. I was amazed with his talent! Then his rude personality overshadowed the beauty of his tennis! I disliked his on-court behavior, his immaturity, him not being serious about his job, yet always liked to watch him play tennis and only that! I actually enjoyed him winning AO in doubles!
I understand his rebellious behavior but he almost always crosses the line and he does it at his own expense! While he has weapons to make this final competitive, he lacks mental strength to beat one of the best grass court players in the world!
Don’t think Novak will let this go to 5! We all know he brings his best tennis in the finals! Novak in 4
Some kind of English grammer expert* we have to get it right when dealing with haters and trolls!
Yes we do .At least get the spelling of Grammar right