Wimbledon 2022 – Novak Djokovic predicts ‘a lot of fireworks’ against Nick Kyrgios in final

Novak Djokovic has predicted “a lot of fireworks” against Nick Kyrgios in the final of Wimbledon on Sunday after he beat Britain’s Cameron Norrie.

The top seed and reigning champion could hardly have made a worse start as he dropped the opening set 6-2 as the British fans celebrated wildly inside Centre Court.

Djokovic, who so often makes sluggish starts only to bounce back impressively, made a very swift and predictable recovery from the second set onwards and quickly asserted his authority.

“I didn’t start well, he was the better player in the first set,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “In the semi-finals of a Grand Slam… I’ve been in many semi-finals, but it’s never easy walking out onto court. A lot of pressure and expectations from yourself and others.

“Cameron didn’t have much to lose, he was playing the tournament of his life and playing at home is never easy. He’s a great player and I have a lot of respect for him.

“It was very hot today, the hottest day of the championships so far. I was a bit tighter at the beginning of the match, not swinging through the ball as smoothly as I’d like.

“Cameron was dominating the play and I got lucky in the second set to break his serve at 4-3, he missed a couple of put-aways and gifted me that game. Momentum shifted, and that’s the significance of a stage like this and in the semis of a Grand Slam.”

Looking ahead to facing Kyrgios on Sunday in the men’s tournament showpiece, Djokovic predicted “fireworks” on Centre Court.

“The job is not finished. One thing is for sure, there will be a lot of fireworks emotionally, from both of us. It’s going to be his first Grand Slam final and he’s going to be very excited.

“He doesn’t have much to lose, and he’s always playing like that. He plays so freely, he has one of the biggest serves in the game. He has a lot of power in his shots.

“We haven’t played for some time. I’ve never won a set off him so hopefully, it can be different this time. It’s another final for me here, so hopefully, the experience can work in my favour.”

“We definitely have a bit of a bromance now, which is weird,” Kyrgios said in his pre-final press conference. “I think everyone knows there was no love lost for a while there. I think it was healthy for the sport.

“I think every time we played each other, there was hype around it. It was interesting for the media, the people watching, all that. I felt like I was almost the only kind of player and someone to stand up for him with all that kind of drama at the Australian Open.

“I feel like that’s where respect is kind of earned. Not on the tennis court, but I feel like when a real-life crisis is happening, and someone stands up for you… we actually message each other on DMs in Instagram now and stuff. It’s real weird.”

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