Nick Kyrgios recently reflected on his defeat against Novak Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon Championships final.
Despite competing in multiple Grand Slams, Kyrgios’ performance at Wimbledon in 2022 remains unmatched. He kicked off his journey with a victory against local favorite Paul Jubb and went on to defeat top players including Filip Krajinovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Brandon Nakashima, and Cristian Garin, ultimately reaching the semifinals.
Kyrgios advanced to the finals after his opponent Rafael Nadal withdrew due to an injury, giving him a free pass in the semifinals. In the highly anticipated summit clash on Centre Court, Kyrgios faced off against Djokovic, holding a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over the Serb. Impressively, he had not lost a single set in their previous two meetings.
Despite Kyrgios managing to put Djokovic on the back foot early and clinching the opening set in just over 30 minutes, the Serb was able to make a characteristic comeback and ultimately won the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3).
During a recent episode of the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast, the Aussie had a conversation with Frances Tiafoe where he revisited the final and expressed regret. He specifically mentioned [at 8:22]:
“I won the first set and I’m two sets away… I feel like I still think about that match every day like what if I had played those two sets better like I won five sets in a row against Novak. I beat him twice before that, didn’t drop a set, won the first which means five sets in a row and then I lose three straight.
“I didn’t sleep for two nights leading up to that match. I literally got like two hours of sleep, I was so anxious like every little thing that I did in my career led up to that one match, every gym session, every rehab session, every ice bath, every cold shower, led up to that one moment and it was just crazy that I was that close.”
Nick Kyrgios Reflects on Facing Tennis Legends in His Era
During the same episode of the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast, Nick Kyrgios also discussed with Frances Tiafoe the challenges he encountered while competing against Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray during his early career.
“My era was so tough like, when I was 21-22, playing prime Novak, Nadal, Federer, and Murray, every fourth round, if you think about it, they were unbeatable. I make it to the fourth round… it was like everything, then I was left in the draw with these guys, I needed to be born five years later,”the Aussie said [at 9:58].
Surprisingly, Kyrgios achieved victories over Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer in their very first encounters. In fact, their initial face-off took place in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2014, where Kyrgios emerged triumphant with a 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3 score against Nadal.
In the next year, Nick Kyrgios defeated Federer 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12) in a Round-of-32 match at the Madrid Open, and later went on to beat Djokovic 7-6(9), 7-5 in their first encounter at the quarterfinals of the 2017 Acapulco Open.
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