After a pulsating two weeks, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios will take to centre stage on Sunday in a mouthwatering clash in the Wimbledon final.

For Kyrgios the task at hand is great, with the Australian never been beyond the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam before this fortnight. In contrast, Djokovic will be competing in a record 32nd major final as he aims to capture his 21st Grand Slam crown.

However, Kyrgios is the game’s ultimate big-stage performer and with the weapons he possesses – a thunderous serve and powerful forehand – the 27-year-old will look to rise to the occasion and end his fairytale run with his first Grand Slam trophy.

“He plays lights-out every time he steps out onto the court,” Djokovic said when discussing Kyrgios. “Just [has] a lot of power in his serve and his game. So I’m sure he’s going to go for it. No doubt he’s going to be aggressive. I expect him to do that.

“He’s a big-match player. If you see his career, the best tennis he’s played is always against the top guys. That’s why we all respect him, because we know what he can come up with. It’s going to be [an] interesting match.”

Kyrgios arrived in London high in confidence, having reached consecutive semi-finals on grass in Stuttgart and Halle. The World No. 40 has successfully transitioned his performances to the lawns in London, overcoming Paul Jubb, Filip Krajinovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Brandon Nakashima and Cristian Garin, before Rafael Nadal withdrew from their semi-final due to injury.

Most Grass Wins (2022)

Prior to Wimbledon, the six-time tour-level titlist had not reached the quarter-finals at a major since the 2015 Australian Open. Many, including the Aussie, believed his chances to win a major had gone, making his run in London extra special.

“I just never thought that I would be [at this stage] at a Grand Slam. I thought that ship had sailed,” he said after his quarter-final win. “I didn’t go about things great earlier in my career and may have missed my window. I am really proud of the way I have come back out here.”

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Having put himself into a position to win the title, Kyrgios admitted on Friday that his nerves are building as he aims to show the world what he is capable of.

“I had a shocking sleep last night, though, to be honest. I probably got an hour’s sleep just with everything, like the excitement. I had so much anxiety, I was already feeling so nervous, and I don’t feel nervous usually,” Kyrgios said. “I just know there’s a lot of people that want me to do well and give my best. But I had a shocking sleep last night. Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight.”

Although he may be sleep-deprived, Kyrgios can take comfort and encouragement from his standout record against top seed Djokovic, with the Australian leading the Serbian 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head Series. Kyrgios has won all four sets the pair has played, never dropped serve and faced just one break point.

The 27-year-old, who defeated Rafael Nadal en route to the quarter-finals on debut at The Championships in 2014 and earned a win against Roger Federer in Madrid in 2015, will need to be firing on serve if he is going to breach the defences of Djokovic, who many views as the best returner to have played the sport.

The Australian, who is the lowest-ranked man to reach the Wimbledon final since World No. 48 Mark Philippoussis in 2003, has hammered 120 aces during the grass-court major, often hitting his spots on crucial points to dispatch opponents.

With history on the line, Djokovic will be ready for whatever Kyrgios throws at him when he walks onto Centre Court for his eighth final at The Championships.

The World No. 3 is chasing a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title and seventh overall, which would draw him level with American Pete Sampras and move him to within one of Federer (8).

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Following his four-set win over Cameron Norrie in the semi-finals, Djokovic improved to 85-10 at SW19, moving clear of Jimmy Connors (84-18) and into second in the all-time wins list.

“I’m aware of what’s on the line. Every match, every Grand Slam that I get to play at this stage of my career, there is a lot on the line,” Djokovic said after defeating Norrie. “I don’t know how many Grand Slam opportunities to win the trophy I will still have, as I will have in a few days. So, of course, I’m approaching it with [a] positive attitude and self-belief and willingness to win. There’s no doubt about it.”

Most Grand Slam men’s singles final appearances (all-time)

Sunday’s final will be Djokovic’s fifth Grand Slam championship match in a row playing against someone who has never won a major. Last season he defeated Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini in the first three finals of the year, before Medvedev gained revenge at the US Open to lift his maiden Grand Slam trophy.

Djokovic is expecting a tough battle against Kyrgios, but he is again ready to deal with the pressure he has become accustomed to.

“One thing for sure, there is going to be a lot of fireworks emotionally from both of us,” Djokovic said. “It is going to be his first Grand Slam final. He is very excited and he doesn’t have much to lose and he is always playing like that. He is playing so freely, one of the biggest serves in the game. Just a big game overall, a lot of power in his shots. We haven’t played for some time. I have never won a set off him. Hopefully it can be different this time.

“It is another final here at Wimbledon at a tournament I love so much. Hopefully the experience can work in my favour.”

Most consecutive Wimbledon men’s singles titles (Open Era)

After a testing fortnight, Djokovic stands one match away from creating more history at The All England Lawn Tennis Club as he looks to close the gap on 22-time major champion Nadal. Will the Serbian maintain his imperious Wimbledon record and earn a 28th consecutive match win and seventh crown, or will Kyrgios rise to the occasion as he so often does and upset the 87-time tour-level titlist?

Did You Know?
A victory for Kyrgios would see him become the first male Grand Slam champion from Australia since Lleyton Hewitt won the Wimbledon title in 2002.

Cameron Norrie walked off Centre Court at Wimbledon on Friday having lost to Novak Djokovic in his first major semi-final. Although the Briton has plenty to be proud of after a memorable fortnight, the experience has left him hungry for more.

“Great experience. I can take a lot of confidence from it. To reach the semis, reach the Friday of the second week, is pretty sick. But I think for me, I want to go [for] more and I want to do more of that and go one further and try to win a Slam,” Norrie said.

“A lot of firsts for me this week, a lot of good experiences. Hopefully I can take them in my stride. I think looking, comparing to Novak, I think it was just the level of execution from him today was better than me. His level of focus, the way he handled his service games was better than me. That was the difference.”

For a moment, it seemed Norrie was in good position to push for his first major final after storming through the first set 6-2. But Djokovic rebounded with devastating form through the rest of the match to triumph after two hours and 35 minutes.

“I think I played okay. I just made a lot of returns. I hit the spots well on my serve. Like I said, it was the biggest match of my career. I think it was a six out of 10 set. I think I was running a lot, put a lot of balls in the court,” Norrie said. “I felt like he was a bit nervous. He wasn’t serving as well as I’ve seen him serve. I was winning all the rallies and winning all the longer points. It was a solid set.

“I knew that I had to keep raising the level to have a chance. A semi-final, my first Grand Slam, when you take the set 6-2, you take that. Yeah, it was a good start, but it wasn’t enough.”

Before this edition of Wimbledon, Norrie had never advanced past the third round at a major. But having lifted his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy last year at Indian Wells and competed in the Nitto ATP Finals, the lefty was ready for the moment.

“Coming in here and kind of getting through the draw in the fashion that I did, handling the occasions of playing Centre Court, playing Court 1, playing guys that I’m actually [favoured] to beat, being in situations in fourth rounds, quarters, where I’m actually going in favoured, it’s not easy,” Norrie said. “It’s always nice going into those matches being the underdog and you’ve got nothing to lose.

“For me, I went out there and there was a lot of pressure on me to win. I had good chances to win. So for me to come out and serve out sets, serve out matches, and have the nerve to do that, to have the level of focus, just overall it was a lot of fun doing that.”

One of the best parts of the experience for Norrie was having the British fans behind him. The 26-year-old was the last British singles player remaining, and they tried to help push him all the way.

“Everyone got behind me. The atmosphere was incredible. Especially serving that game out against [David] Goffin to make my first semi-final was pretty crazy,” Norrie said. “I think it’s all happened very quickly. I’m going to have a lot of time to reflect on everything. But it’s tough right now to think about it too much. Obviously just getting knocked out.
A lot of good learning for me.”

Top seed Novak Djokovic revealed that he is embracing the opportunity to make more history at Wimbledon this weekend after he defeated Cameron Norrie to reach a record 32nd Grand Slam final.

The 35-year-old is aiming to capture a seventh Wimbledon crown and 21st major title as he aims to close the gap on 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.

“I’m aware of what’s on the line. Every match, every Grand Slam that I get to play at this stage of my career, there is a lot on the line,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. “I don’t know how many Grand Slam opportunities to win the trophy I will still have, as I will have in a few days. So, of course, I’m approaching it with [a] positive attitude and self-belief and willingness to win. There’s no doubt about it.”

The Serbian, who admitted he was delighted to reach another final, will meet Australian Nick Kyrgios in the championship match.

It will be the first time Kyrgios has competed in a Grand Slam final, but Djokovic knows the challenge Kyrgios will pose, with the 27-year-old leading the top seed 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.

“The experience that I have at this level, playing in the finals against someone that has never played a Grand Slam final, could be slightly in my favour. But at the same time, knowing who he is and how he goes about his tennis and his attitude on the court, he doesn’t seem to be falling under pressure much,” Djokovic said.

“He plays lights-out every time he steps out onto the court. Just [has] a lot of power in his serve and his game. So I’m sure he’s going to go for it. No doubt he’s going to be aggressive. I expect him to do that.”

The World No. 40 has earned victories against all of the ‘Big Four’ (Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray) in his career. It is a record Djokovic is aware of.

“He’s a big-match player. If you see his career, the best tennis he’s played is always against the top guys,” Djokovic said. “That’s why we all respect him, because we know what he can come up with. It’s going to be [an] interesting match.”

By overcoming Norrie on Centre Court, Djokovic improved his Wimbledon record to 85-10, surpassing Jimmy Connors’ 84-18 record. The World No. 3 was pleased with how he managed to gain momentum after a slow start.

“I felt like I was maintaining my focus pretty well. I sat down, wasn’t playing well, feeling well, but somehow I managed to turn the match around,” Djokovic said.

“You could see today on the court that he dropped the focus a little bit a few times and that’s where I stepped in and really started to control the pace of the match, exchanges from the baseline. He was asking for the support of the crowd and he was getting it.

“It was not easy to close out the match. Even though I was a break up in the fourth, I felt like I was constantly being chased by him from early in the set when I made that break. I felt a lot of pressure to serve it out. But I did serve well. I think when you serve well, it’s a big relief in these kinds of circumstances, these kinds of matches. It helps a lot playing on grass.”

Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios will meet for the first time at the All England Club – and the third time overall – in Sunday’s Wimbledon final. Kyrgios has won their prior meetings (both in 2017) without dropping a set and without dropping serve.

But as a 20-time Grand Slam champion, Djokovic has a clear edge in big-match experience over the Australian, who will contest his first major final.

What Is The Head-To-Head Rivalry Between Novak Djokovic & Nick Kyrgios?

2017 Indian Wells R16, hard, Kyrgios d. Djokovic 6-4, 7-6(3)

2017 Acapulco QF, hard, Kyrgios d. Djokovic 7-6(9), 7-5

View The Djokovic-Kyrgios ATP Head2Head page For Match Stats, Bio Info & More

What time is the Wimbledon men’s singles final?

The Wimbledon men’s singles final will take place at 2pm BST / 3pm CEST / 9am EDT on Sunday 10 June.

What time is the Wimbledon women’s singles final?

The Wimbledon women’s singles final between Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur will take place at 2pm BST / 3pm CEST / 9am EDT on Saturday 9 June.

How much prize money will the Wimbledon men’s and women’s singles champions earn?

The men’s and women’s champions will both earn £2,000,000. See full round-by-round breakdown.