The App is Back! Don’t forget to download the NBC Sports EDGE app to receive real-time player news, mobile alerts and track your favorite players. Plus, now you can check out articles and player cards. Get it here!
We’ve made it to the final on the men’s side at Wimbledon. A new Grand Slam champion (at least as far as 2022 is concerned) will be crowned as a 20-time slam winner takes on a first-time finalist.
This one’s sure to be an outstanding match with two excellent ball-strikers, and I’ll waste no more time in breaking it down.
Novak Djokovic (-417) vs. Nick Kyrgios (+310)
Let’s first address the obvious here, and that is that Kyrgios has never lost to Djokovic. They met twice in the span of two weeks back in 2017, when Djokovic was just beginning to come out of one of the biggest slumps of his career. Kyrgios took both matches in straight sets, though it should be said the level of tennis was incredibly high and the margins were very tight.
Those meetings were on a hardcourt, and this will be on grass — with much larger stakes. This is where Djokovic is arguably better than anyone in the history of the game, but it’s also where Kyrgios is at his best — and surely one of the three best players in the world.
Kyrgios’ lethal power and aggressive game style will make for Djokovic’s toughest challenge yet. He doesn’t have one bad weakness as Matteo Berrettini did in last year’s Wimbledon final. He doesn’t lack the experience that his quarterfinal and semifinal opponents did. Kyrgios is going to enter with confidence and belief he can win.
Editor’s Note: NBC Sports Predictor: Play for FREE and win huge jackpots up to $100,000! Download the app today.
I want to ask you a question: Can you name all the times Djokovic has won a Grand Slam final in straight sets since the 2019 Australian Open? If it helps, he’s played in 10 slams and won five of them, going to seven finals.
Just once — in Australia, last year, against Daniil Medvedev. Even then, he nearly dropped the first set.
Djokovic has been one of — if not the most dominant player — in the men’s game over the last five or so years. He’s won slam after slam, but he’s rarely made it look easy. He’s used his incredible mental fortitude to dig himself out of holes.
He’s had to do that all tournament long here, dropping the first set in each of his last two matches and the second set in two of the four prior to the quarterfinal. There have been many lapses in concentration, and players who can get aggressive and hit big have been able to gain some momentum against Djokovic until he adjusts.
That’s what I think we have here. Kyrgios has one of the biggest games around and has been arguably the hardest man to break serve against at Wimbledon. I have a hard time believing he doesn’t at least take a set here given how dominant he’s been on grass and how badly Djokovic has looked out of the gates.
Jannik Sinner was able to hit through Djokovic before his huge groundstrokes stopped landing, and that brought him a two sets-to-love lead. That’s the blueprint for Kyrgios here, though it’s possible he can sustain the big hitting to actually win the match.
With that, I’ll take the over. I think both players will take a set, and a tiebreak or two is very possible.
Edge: Over 39.5
