Wimbledon 2022

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Serena Williams has been granted a wildcard and will play

Bit like watching Djoko take on a first or second round opponent at a Slam.

Since the first set, Norrie has only won around half a dozen points on the Djoko serve. His return game has been woeful, in that Djoko is hardly banging down loads of aces.

The inevitable win for Djoko comes at 5.55pm. Norrie did show a little bit of form towards the end - but only in holding serve.

He hardly made a dent on the Djoko serve in sets two, three and four and it must go down as one of the poorest s-f performances we've seen at Wimbledon.

Disappointing match overall. Djokovic doesn’t look like the vintage version anymore. Norrie is a decent mover but literally has no weapons.
I give Kygrios a fair shot against this version of Djokovic

JN - Yes, Kyrgios could well win but Djoko in sets 2-4 had to do so little to beat a harmless - arms-less? - Norrie that it's difficult to judge his form.

From what I've seen over the past fortnight, Kyrgios will wipe the court with Djokovic before leaping into the royal box (pun intended) to give HRH the Duchess of Cambridge a bloody good rogering (pun unintended) before drivng off into the sunset with HRH and Pippa waving from the back of his ute. Or Djokovic in 4 sets with Kyrgios not really getting going.

I think Kygrios’ serve is the big equaliser and his net game is better than say what Berrettini had last year.
Djokovic has also slowed down slightly imo

Have been very disappointed with the standard in some of the matches.

If Norrie and Fritz are top 20 players then things are not good. Today, time after time Norrie failed to return the Djoko serve and Novak was hardly sending down bullets.

Norrie won just 10 points on the Djoko serve in sets 2-4. Unless he got a half-court ball Cam seemed incapable of hitting a winner. In the end he was celebrating wildly for simply holding serve while making no impression on the Novak serve.

Fritz should have accounted for a half-fit, gently-serving Rafa.

Just hoping that we'll get a good Djoko-Kyrgios final. Some times a fine title match can scrub some of the earlier dross from the memory bank.

So the headlines later this afternoon will either read Muslim Woman Wins Wimbledon or Moscow Woman Wins Wimbledon.

Not much doubt which scenario the Wimbledon authorities would prefer.

If Rybakina serves as well as she did against Halep in the semi then she should win. But we've seen players freeze in finals before (Lisicki in 2013 and the awful start made by Pliskova last year) so Jabeur has a chance.

However, I was fairly unimpressed with Ons in the semi (it was a really awful match) so I'm going with Rybakina.

By tomorrow night Wimbledon's come-uppance for their decision to ban the Russian and Belarusian players could end with a Russian-born women's winner, with the men's title going to "Bad Boy" Kyrgios.

Jabeur wins opening set 6-3. Pretty mediocre standard of tennis tbh. Rybakina seems clueless when Jabeur moon balls

First set 6-3 to Jabeur. Rybakina far too anxious to try to end points early and committing too many UEs.

Jabeur was so bad in the semi that she was almost bound to be better in the final. She's showing the sort of form that has given her a lot of success of late.

Rybakina wins the second set 6-2. Her serve and big forehand was able to bully Jabeur.
Jabeur lost the plot somewhat towards the end of the set.

Rybakina a break up in the third. Can Jabeur come back?

Rybakina serving for the match at 5-2

Rybakina wins

Elena Rybakina wins 3-6 6-2 6-2 to win first major championship.
Ons Jabeur wilted as the match went on
Russian champion...who predicted that...

Rybakina has that Sharapova feel about her game

Rybakina was by far the better player. She cut out the UEs that plagued her in the first set.

Although her first serve was nothing like as impressive as it was in the semi, she had good 2nd serve stats.

It was not a great match but far better than some of the stuff served up of late.

So Russia can now hail a Moscow-born winner of Wimbledon. How ironic.

It was Boris Johnson that politicized Wimbledon for this year.   The WTA and ATP ruled on the issue - individuals allowed to play but cannot represent their native country (hence flags & other national symbols removed).   All other tournaments abided by this such as the French Open, other European tournaments and even the US Open have announced individuals won't be banned from entry.  It was Johnson's intervention forcing / urging Wimbledon to ban players that turned Wimbledon into a focus of global attention and news media talk.  So you can bet Putin and his Foreign minister are going to make the most out of this just for how ridiculous the situation was. Banning Russian players from sport means zero to the minds of the Russian leaders compared to the Issue of Eastern Ukraine and NATO expansion onto Russian borders.

I am going for Kyrgios in 4 sets tomorrow. Djokovic has been bang average throughout the tournament, only exception being latter stages of Sinner match. He is way below his 2021 level, nowhere near his best form, I would say he is at 60-70% of his usual standard. If kyrgios serves like he has so far this tournament, he will definitely win. Djokovic to me just doesn’t look comfortable on court. I thought he was really poor vs Norrie, that just shows how far behind Norrie really is behind the best players

Now we just need Kyrgios to beat Djoko tomorrow to add to Wimbledon's uncomfortability.

Can Nick do it? If he serves well he certainly could. I know some think that Djoko is well past his best but he may still have enough in the tank to edge it.

I am certain Krygios will give it his all to win, will employ dink serves if Djokovic stands too far back, may get frustrated and start arguing and may receive warnings and penalties.  With Djokovic - well he will certainly try his best - but nowadays his best is well below his best of past years.   Last year at the final of the US Open his performance was flat.  He said he couldn't move his legs properly, that they felt heavy.  He blamed it on "emotional pressure" he had been carrying - but the end result was he was lethargic.

It's men's final day with Djoko going for a 21st GS and Kyrgios in his first Slam title match.

Although you can never tell what Kyrgios will get up to, I think he's far less likely to behave badly on CC in a final in front of, presumably, royalty, than on other occasions.

This could be bad news for Djoko. Kyrgios getting all worked up would act in Novak's favour. A focussed Nick concentrating on his tennis could well win the match.

Having said all that, I'm still making Djoko favourite. Let's hope for a good match.

Going for Kygrios in 4 sets today. In London it’s absolutely roasting today. That will help that big serve even more.
Djokovic as I said previously has slowed down a touch and he’s generally not as great as he was in 2021.

Certainly never going to write Djokovic off ! Does have a bit of a look of the heavens aligning for Kygrios though...Nadal dropping out and all. Forgive me if I can't find that prospect very enticing : the fellow can play , sure ... But this is called The Gentleman's Singles and I have trouble putting all that together...

If John McEnroe can become so establishment that he co-hosts the mid-tournament event for the 100th anniversary of the Centre Court, then what's to stop a 60-something Kyrgios doing something similar in, say, 2062?

Probably a poor comparison, in that Johnny Mac, for all his tantrums, was rarely disrespectful to his opponents. His arguments were with umpires, line judges and referees. I would love to have seen how he would have coped with the challenge system.

Kyrgios, who is only aged 27, has a weird slam record.

Wimbledon:
2014: QF (age 19)
2015: 4R
2016: 4R
2017: 1R
2018: 3R
2019: 2R
2021: 3R

Aus Open:
2014: 2R
2015: QF
2016: 3R
2017: 2R
2018: 4R
2019: 1R
2020: 4R
2021: 3R
2022: 2R

Best he has done at French Open is 3R and he has skipped the last five years.  Best he has done at the US Open is also 3R.

Career Stats
ATP Masters 1000: no wins + one runner up.
ATP500: three wins + one runner up.
ATP250: three wins + one runner up.

It seems his profile is greater than what his results actually warrant.

Excellent start to the final with a timely challenge by Nick leading to his breaking Djoko in the 5th game.

A tremendous first set from Kyrgios who takes it 6-4.

Long way to go, of course. And Djoko so often starts slowly these days.

Djoko now 4-1 up in the second set.

One set all and now on serve in the third but with Kyrgios beginning to rant at the umpire.

Probably the best we've seen of Djoko for some time but some big serving keeping Nick in it.

Djoko breaks for a 5-4 lead in the third as Kyrgios continues to rant. May be all over now.

God Kyrgios' shtick is boring.

Weak umpire allows Djokovic 11 minutes at then end of the third set to change his clothes. The permitted limit is 6 minutes.

88Chris05 wrote:God Kyrgios' shtick is boring.

I think it's pretty funny, continually ranting at the poor bas'tards who are there to support you.

Djokovic wins 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 - 7th Wimbledon title/21st major.
Djokovic, like last year, was there for the taking. Kyrgios just doesn’t have the mental capacity.

GSM to Djoko.

He was remarkably solid today and still looks a terrific player.

Can't agree that Djoko was "there for the taking", Jeff. He didn't actually play that badly in the first set but Kyrgios was brilliant in the opening games.

After that, Djoko was hardly ever in trouble on his serve and put pressure on nearly every serve from the Australian, even though Nick was often able to get out of trouble with aces.

I really thought we might see a well-behaved Kyrgios today, with a young royal watching on. But no, the ranting, the chuntering, even the swearing - they were all there.

It certainly cost him at the end of the third set. I thought the only way that he could win the fourth set was to take it to a tiebreak but he played a horrible breaker...and that was that.

But even though it was a disappointing end to the match, the contest itself was a good one, with very few UEs and lots of winners.

When I looked at Krygios career record I was a bit shocked. Prior to today he had only made two slam QF and that was back in 2014 & 2015. With such a relatively mediocre level being set throughout his professional career I was thinking how is it possible to expect him to win today given he had never reached anywhere near the required level before.

Can't comment on todays match as I didn't watch it. All I can offer is my congratulations to Dojokovic and say that for the first time, I'm not too disappointed that he won. Normally I root for whoever he's playing to beat him but not today. I don't hate Kyrgios, but I can't see what all the fuss about him is about. Take away his "personality" and what? He's certainly not another McEnroe. McEnroe was a great player, a world number one and multiple major winner. It's not too late but Kyrgios doesn't look like he's going to reach those heights.

Brilliant performance from Djokovic today and it had to be. Kyrgios to his credit played very well, to think he served at about 75% 1st serves in and averaging over 130mph, just shows what a remarkable returner Djokovic is. Really thought Kyrgios would win today based on current form but Djokovic really upped his game when it mattered most. Ties Sampras with 7 wimbledons, I just wonder could he end up catching Federer on 8. Might be one too far given his age but you never know. Such a shame now that novaks next slam is likely to be French open next year!

I know there are those who think that Djoko's level has dropped off. But I thought he played really well today.

His returning was fantastic and even though Kyrgios was serving bullets, the Australian was constantly under pressure on serve.

Djoko's movement was good, in fact it was exceptional for a guy in his mid-30s. I agree that the number of top players who can play on grass is quite low, but one of those who can compete on the green stuff is Kyrgios - and Djoko was still too good for him.

Wimbledon was so bad last year that 2022 had to be an improvement. Yes, there were some poor matches this year but both singles' winners were worthy champions.

Kyrgios played some good shots but often not on the big points.

I am amazed how many Wimbledons Djokovic won (now on a par with Pete Sampras I think), in 2012-2013 I used to argue that Murray was the better and more natural grass court player and the results seemed to back me up for a while but eventually didn´t.

I have heard news that the Australian government have now relaxed their rules and will allow unvaccinated individuals into their country. Not sure if that applies to Djokovic because anyone thrown out of Australian won't be allowed back for a four or five year period - although Djokovic could argue that he entered Australia because he was told he was able to (lawyers + AO Open).
https://www.msn.com/en-au/travel/news/australia-has-opened-its-borders-to-unvaccinated-travellers-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ar-AAZfd22

So the Big Four domination of Wimbledon now stretches 20 years. In the other slams occasionally another player has sneaked in for a title but not at SW19.

Alas few of the really top guys are comfortable on grass which makes it easy for the likes of Djoko to continue to triumph. Berrettini and Cilic might have made it more difficult this year, but neither was able to play.

Of the young bloods, Sinner and Alcaraz could eventually break thru on grass but are not quite there yet.

In the women's we have yet another new GS winner. I must say I thought Halep might get there this year but she served so horribly in her semi that there was no way she could win.

sirfredperry wrote:So the Big Four domination of Wimbledon now stretches 20 years.

Good stat.

I remember several of us thought Novak´s reputation was permanently tarnished after Australian Open. However in practice it all seems to have faded into the background by now to some extent, and there wasn´t much following up reporting on the test and the application. I think a lot of people will not remember the specific details that made it so bad, and just remember that he wasn´t vaccinated.

Congratulations to Djokovic on no. 21!

Despite a claim of 'I Was Right There' With Djokovic, Kyrgios needs a sports psychologist, if he wants to win a Slam.

Can't say I'm sorry to see Djokovic beat Kyrgios. Credit to him for a great first set effort ; but he is his own worst enemy with all the ranting and raging as soon as anything doesn't go his way. Laver fan is right about the psychologist I think...

Djokovic knows his own game so well. Doesn't get flustered. More slams in his kit bag I reckon.

Still waiting for a real challenger to him and Nadal.

Win Wimbledon and slip to 7th in the rankings - that's Djoko's fate this morning.

Still, the no-points nonsense is now over and, in fact, the rankings, which have been a little all over the place for more than two years, finally get back to normal some time over the next few weeks.

Talking of Slam domination, the next GS is the one at which some of the non-Big Four guys have had some success. New York has seen title glory for delPo, Cilic, Thiem and Medvedev over the last few years.

For the time being, and as long as there are no player bans, you have to reckon that Djoko is favourite for the AO and Wimbledon, with Rafa likely to continue to take the French crown.

sirfredperry wrote:Win Wimbledon and slip to 7th in the rankings - that's Djoko's fate this morning.

Still, the no-points nonsense is now over and, in fact, the rankings, which have been a little all over the place for more than two years, finally get back to normal some time over the next few weeks.

Talking of Slam domination, the next GS is the one at which some of the non-Big Four guys have had some success. New York has seen title glory for delPo, Cilic, Thiem and Medvedev over the last few years.

For the time being, and as long as there are no player bans, you have to reckon that Djoko is favourite for the AO and Wimbledon, with Rafa likely to continue to take the French crown.

I'm really not so sure - the years are definitely catching up with Rafa, who looked to be getting all he could handle from Zverev at RG prior to the injury, and Djokovic had a couple of wobbles this Wimbledon, losing sets you really wouldn't expect him to. I think there will be plenty of players lining up at next year's Ao thinking they can take him on there as well - he might still win Wimbledon based on how few of the younger players actually look competent on grass, but I think he's not quite as good at maintaining his level as a couple of years ago

I cannot believe Djokovic now slips to 7th in world rankings after winning wimbledon again, just comical. To think its now unlikely we will see Djokovic at another slam again until 2023 French open, whether you like him or not, not having him at grand slams only takes away from them. You want the best players in the world competing at all the slams. I appreciate the US open would be self inflicted as he has the choice of getting the vaccine but it still doesnt take from the fact the US open would be all the better with him in the draw.

The US open has had a habit of being the one major that throws up the most surprises, so many different winners over the past 10-15 years, far more than at the other slams. Djokovic's record of 3 wins there is quite surprising but he has been incredibly consistent there reaching 9 finals. I have always found it strange that Djokovic has played in 9 Australian open finals and won all 9 of them. At US open he has played 9 finals and won 3, lost 6. It shows they are very different hard courts.