The 2022 Wimbledon men’s singles final throws up a tale of complete opposites.
Novak Djokovic, the epitome of consistency and mental resilience, will walk out as a Grand Slam finalist for a record 32nd time, where he will face Nick Kyrgios. It will be the volatile Australian’s first time on the biggest stage.
It’s no surprise to see the top seed in the Wimbledon final once again, with it now five years since he last lost at SW19. Victory this afternoon will bring a seventh title at the All England Club. Djokovic has not been entirely at his imperious best though, dropping a set in four of his six wins on the way to the final. He had to come from behind against Jannik Sinner and Cameron Norrie.
He’s up against a rested Kyrgios, who did not have to hit a ball in the semi-finals after Rafael Nadal withdrew the evening before the match due to injury. Kyrgios was not far from going out in the first round, before eventually beating Britain’s Paul Jubb, and there have also been battling wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Brandon Nakashima.
Here’s all you need to know about this afternoon’s final...
Djokovic vs Kyrgios date and start time
The pair will take to Centre Court on Sunday, July 9, 2022.
Djokovic and Kyrgios will walk out at 2pm BST.
How to watch Djokovic vs Kyrgios
TV channel: BBC will broadcast the match on BBC One with coverage on the channel commencing at 1pm BST.
Live stream: TV licence fee-payers can stream the tennis action over the next two weeks via the BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app.
LIVE blog: Keep across all of the coverage with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog.
Djokovic vs Kyrgios head-to-head (h2h) results
The pair have met twice before, with Kyrgios winning on both occasions. Djokovic is yet to take a set off the Australian.
The first match came at the Mexican Open in 2017, when Kyrgios won 7-6 7-5, and he also came out on top a couple of weeks later at Indian Wells. That was the last time the two played each other, more than five years ago.
Djokovic vs Kyrgios prediction
Djokovic is unsurprisingly the favourite to seal yet another Wimbledon title but this is unlikely to be an easy afternoon for him.
Kyrgios has a brilliant record against him and has been more consistent than ever over the past two weeks, aside from the odd distraction. Djokovic is as good a returner as the sport has ever seen but even he will struggle with the Kyrgios serve.
The Australian comes in fresh and a fast start is essential. He’s certainly good enough to take the lead in the match, but as we’ve already seen this tournament Djokovic is a tough man to keep down and it would be no surprise to see him eventually earn a hard-fought victory.
