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Novak Djokovic is in the final against Nick Kyrgios

WHow will you sleep until the final on Sunday? In the case of Nick Kyrgios, hopefully better than the first night after it was established that Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal had made him reach the Wimbledon final.

Peter Penders

Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Sports.

“It was a shocking night to be honest. I was so nervous, I’m actually never nervous. All my thoughts were already circling around this game, I was constantly thinking about how it would be if I won, how it would feel if I lost.” It would be better for him to stop that by Sunday, otherwise the possibility of defeat is the most important more likely.

Premiere for Kyrgios

It’s the Australian’s first career Grand Slam final in singles, so some excitement is understandable. However, it is not to be expected that his opponent will be just as excited about Sunday.

For Novak Djokovic it’s more like everyday life. He competed against the British Cameron Norrie for his 43rd semi-final in a Grand Slam tournament, and because he finally won it 2: 6, 6: 3, 6: 2 and 6: 4 after a very bumpy start decided he could win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title and seventh overall on Sunday.

“I think Nick will be very excited”

Kyrgios shouldn’t look at the statistics anyway, except for one, otherwise he probably won’t be able to sleep at all. When Djokovic enters Center Court on Sunday, he will contest the 32nd Grand Slam final out of 68 Grand Slam tournaments – that is a unique record and a category in which the Serb also has Roger Federer (31) and Rafael Nadal ( 30) exceeds. “I think Nick will be very excited,” said Djokovic about the unequal mental conditions before the final, “but he has nothing to lose either. And that’s how he usually plays.”

The sometimes carefree, sometimes anarchic and in most cases completely unpredictable style of play could also help the Australian decisively if he can start up all systems again by Sunday.

“Disturbance for the entire process”

“Everyone thinks it’s an advantage that I didn’t have to play a semi-final and will therefore be more rested,” said Kyrgios, “but that’s definitely a disruption to the entire process and you just don’t want that. And above all, I lack the adrenaline from a semi-final victory for the final.” For tennis players who are used to only having a day off, three and a half must feel like an eternity.

There is also more at stake for Djokovic than usual. In the race for records and for the title “greatest player of all time”, Nadal has surpassed him with 22 Grand Slam victories since his successes in Melbourne and Paris. Victory on Sunday could bring the Serb (20) back within a league title but he’ll probably have to sit back and watch things develop after that.

His vaccination status stands in the way of participation at both the US Open in late summer and the Australian Open. After Wimbledon, the next chance will probably only come at the French Open in Paris – the tournament that Nadal has won 14 times.

At the moment, however, Djokovic seems well prepared for everything that could await him. Against Jannik Sinner he was 0:2 sets behind in the quarterfinals and found a way to win the game. And Norrie had also initially won the first set against a very faulty Djokovic and had been the better player.

Then the Serb managed a lucky break to make it 4:3 in the second round – and after that the whole game turned in his favor. Kyrgios will have been watching closely and there is one statistic that could put the Aussie at ease. He has won the two games so far – and Djokovic has not won a set.

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