Nick Kyrgios, Who Lost to Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon Final, Claims He Would’ve Won Had He Faced Rafael Nadal

Former World No.1 Novak Djokovic will participate in the ATP 250 Hellenic Championship in Athens.

Nick Kyrgios, Who Lost to Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon Final, Claims He Would’ve Won Had He Faced Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios (Image via X/Wimbledon, AllAboutHQ)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Nick Kyrgios reached his career’s first and only Grand Slam final at the 2022 Wimbledon, but the opponent he faced was a tough one. It was Novak Djokovic, who dropped the first set but won the next three to clinch his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.

Kyrgios never appeared at SW19 after that defeat due to his injury issues. During an interview with Serena Williams‘ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, Kyrgios suggested that, the way he was performing, he would have defeated anyone, including Rafael Nadal.

I made 75% of my first serves, and Novak broke me three times. I just couldn’t serve any better. I couldn’t have done much more. I played pretty solid. I had a bad tiebreak in the fourth set, but I got broken at 4-all in the third set when I was leading 40-0. It’s completely ridiculous. So you get broken at 40-0 on grass. Something was wrong in my head. Not tennis-wise, but in my head. It was difficult. But he’s just… I think if I had played Rafa or someone else in the final, it would have been good, I think.

That was also the last time Djokovic clinched the Wimbledon title, as in the next two seasons, he suffered defeats in the final at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz. This season, eventual winner Jannik Sinner knocked him out in straight sets in the semifinal.

Kyrgios’ career has been marred by multiple injuries, and at present, he is on the sidelines due to fitness issues. The 30-year-old was last seen in action in doubles at the Citi Open, where he played along with Gael Monfils. In singles, he last played the Miami Open, where he also clinched his first match win in nearly three years.

Yannick Noah on Novak Djokovic’s 25th Grand Slam title goal

Yannick Noah is Team Europe’s new Laver Cup captain. Recently during an interview with French outlet RMC, the Frenchman said it’s hard to write off a player like Novak Djokovic in Grand Slam events, given that the 38-year-old played the semifinals of all four Majors this year.

Novak Djokovic (2)
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/Wolfy)

Against Alcaraz at the US Open, he played a good match, despite the defeat. It came down to seven or eight points, but Alcaraz won them. You can blame that on youth, but I haven’t forgotten that for Nadal, we always said at the beginning of the season before he won his last Grand Slams: it’s over. As long as Novak plays, he’s always dangerous.

Yannick Noah told French outlet RMC

Djokovic has decided to continue his quest for the 25th Grand Slam title next year as well. The last time he won a Major was at the 2023 US Open, and since then, only Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have emerged victorious, as they split the last eight Majors.

Djokovic is not on the entry list for the two ATP 500 events, the China Open and the Japan Open, scheduled to start next week on September 24. He had featured at the Shanghai Masters, the only tournament he played on the Asian swing, losing the match to Sinner. It’s uncertain which city is his next destination. Last year, he had also skipped the ATP Finals.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion, however, has confirmed that he will be playing in the first edition of the Hellenic Championship, an ATP 250 event in Athens. Djokovic has won just an ATP 250 tournament this season (Geneva Open by defeating Hubert Hurkacz), which was also his 100th singles trophy of his career. He also played the Miami Open final, losing the match to Jakub Mensik.

Also read: Alexander Zverev Eager to Take the Responsibility of Leading Team Europe to Success at the Laver Cup