Live-wire Nick Kyrgios admitted he was slightly unnerved by the zen-like demeanour of Novak Djokovic as the subtle Serb rallied to defeat him 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) for a seventh Wimbledon title win on Sunday.
Kyrgios, never far from a dispute with the chair umpire or a four-letter outburst, was stunned at how calmly the 20-time Grand Slam champion added his 21st major title in just over three hours.
“He’s just really composed. It’s weird,” the 40th ranked Kyrgios said after competing in his first Grand Slam final.
“He he was just so composed. That’s what I was just thinking to myself. In big moments, it just felt like he was never rattled.”
The permanently switched-on Aussie who can’t resist a rant against his player box in the heat of battle, called the Djokovic temperament “his greatest strength.”
“He just never looks rattled, he’s just completely within himself the whole time.
“Hats off to him. That was a hell of a match. I thought I served well. I put myself in a position to win.
“But I just wasn’t able to play those clutch points well at all today.”
The 27-year-old said that had he gone on to win the prestige title, it ironically could have marked a massive decline in his patchy career.
“If if I had won that Grand Slam, I think I would have lacked a bit of motivation, to be honest. Coming back for other tournaments, like 250s and stuff, I would have really struggled.”
But he has now regained optimism: “I’m right there. I’m not behind the eight ball at all. I played a Slam final against one of the greatest of all time, and I was right there.
“People were probably expecting me to have something happen today. But I came out in the first set and I looked like I was the one who had played in a lot of finals.
“I thought I dealt with the pressure pretty well.”
The winner of six ATP titles added: “I’ve played finals of 1000 events. My record in finals is pretty good. I’ve played some very good players in finals.
“(Djokovic) has won the tournament I don’t know how many times now…four times in a row. I can only imagine how confident he feels every day, especially at Wimbledon, walking around.
“Now I’ve got that under my belt now, a Wimbledon finalist.”My level has always been there. I feel like I’ve put it together a little bit this week, these couple weeks…”
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