Novak Djokovic booked his spot in a Wimbledon final against Nick Kyrgios and sent a message to the Aussie.
It’s happening – Nick Kyrgios meets Novak Djokovic in Sunday night’s Wimbledon final in a match between two of the most controversial figures in recent Australian sporting history.
Djokovic secured his place with a four-set win against Briton Cameron Norrie on Friday night, sending a brutal warning to Kyrgios about the challenge he presents with an emphatic conclusion to the semi-final.
The Serb was out of sorts early on for the second game in a row, but this time his opponent allowed only a one-set lead after fighting back from a 2-0 deficit to Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals.
It was a one-way street in the last three sets as Djokovic sprinted into the final – his 32nd Grand Final and eighth at Wimbledon – with a 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 win.
It makes for what Kyrgios described as a “delectable” finale.
“One thing is for sure, there will be a lot of fireworks emotionally from both players,” said Djokovic.
Commenting on Djokovic’s semi-final, tennis great John McEnroe believed Djokovic would start the match as a slight favorite with the Wimbledon crowd.
“I think they would be a bit in favor of Djokovic – they like their history here,” he said.
“But who knows. It certainly won’t be like Federer-Djokovic, where it’s 95 percent in Federer’s favour.”
But the booing that rained out of parts of the crowd when Kyrgios was mentioned in Djokovic’s on-court interview suggests the Aussie could face it.
Kyrgios has won both of his previous matches against the Serbian star – both hard-court victories in 2017 in a row.
McEnroe said the matches were “absolutely” relevant. “Kyrgios knows he has the game to thwart Djokovic – he just does,” he said.
Kyrgios spoke to the media in a pre-final press conference on Friday night and revealed the “weird” Instagram messages he received from Djokovic†
He also lashed out at former Australian tennis greats he says have a “sick obsession” to take him down†
Originally published as Novak Djokovic sends a brutal warning to Nick Kyrgios before the Wimbledon final
