Nick Kyrgios faced Novak Djokovic in his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon but the Australian couldn't get it done despite playing really well.
Last year's Wimbledon was really shaping up to be an iconic event for Kyrgios. When Nadal withdrew from their semi-final, Kyrgios got a chance to rest up and prepare as well as he can to face Djokovic and after the first set, it looked really good.
There weren't any nerves and Kyrgios looked very focused. He took the opening set coming only two sets from the grand prize but beating one of the greatest ever takes a bit more than that. Kyrgios talked about the match in the second part of Break Point where he described his level as lights out.
I played lights out. I played the best first set I could possibly have played. He’s so mentally in tune with everything. It’s a great start, it’s exactly what I wanted.
One thing that Djokovic's recent win over Alcaraz demonstrated is that the Serbian knows how to pace himself in the biggest moments. It's something Alcaraz didn't quite master yet and it likely contributed to his defeat. Kyrgios had a similar experience as Djokovic remained very calm even at times when Kyrgios was arguably the better player in the match.
But I don’t want to be behind against Novak. He kept his composure in certain moments where another player would have started to panic. He didn’t show me.
It takes a special effort to defeat Djokovic, one that Kyrgios ultimately couldn't create in the moment. Despite it being a disappointing conclusion, a dream not fulfilled it's still an experience Kyrgios cherishes. A villain for most of his career, Kyrgios finally got the love. Perhaps this year is the year
Got that under my belt now, Wimbledon finalist. I definitely feel more loved and more, like, appreciated. I felt like I belonged there.
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