"In the first set, Novak was like a boxer in the first round of a match" - Patrick Mouratoglou analyses Novak Djokovic's victory over Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final
After probably the most difficult phase of his career, Novak Djokovic is back to winning ways. As he lifted his seventh Wimbledon title on Sunday, the Serb became just the second man after Rafael Nadal to reach 21 Grand Slam titles.
The summit clash saw Djokovic beat Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) in three hours and a minute to register his 28th straight win at SW19. He has won the last four editions of the grass-court Major. French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou took to social media to present his analysis of the final where the Australian lost despite winning the first set. Mouratoglou praised Djokovic's ability to return Kyrgios' serve, which he said was one of the key elements.
"During the Wimbledon final between Novak and Nick, it wasn't just about serving and returning. It was about it, but a tennis match is always much more complicated than that," Mouratoglou said. "In the first set, Novak was really struggling to return Kyrgios' serve. Once he got into the match, he started to read the serves much better. He started to anticipate a lot, like choosing a side and he could finally break him several times. Most of Nick's service games were more difficult than in the first set."
The Frenchman further suggested that had the match been only about who serves better, Kyrgios would have comfortably won. Mouratoglou dubbed Novak Djokovic "probably the best returner of all time" and compared him to a boxer who studies his opponent before unleashing on him.
"Novak's ability to return was very important because then, the key of the match became the rallies. At the start of the match, it was not about rallying because it was only about serving. If it had stayed like that, Nick would have won, for sure. But as we know, Novak is probably the best returner in the world and maybe of all time," Mouratoglou added.
"In that first set, Novak was like a boxer in the first round of a match. He was looking at his opponent, checking where he serves, where he goes on the big points, and how he plays. Once he lost the first set, he was ready for what was coming next. There were really two matches in one. For sure, his experience played a very important role because he never panicked. It's like, 'Okay, now I have the full image of how you play, what you're going to do, and now I'm ready to compete'. That's what happened," Mouratoglou concluded.
"Gold medal for Serbia is missing" - Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic's only medal at the Olympics came in 2008 in Beijing, where he won bronze. While the Serb was denied the bronze medal by Juan Martin del Potro and Pablo Carreno Busta in 2012 and 2020, respectively, he lost to del Potro in the first round in 2016.
@DjokerNoleThousands of people came tonight to greet one of the greatest Serbian athletes of all time, and a national hero who would rather risk his career than submit to the NWO.
Welcome home 🇷🇸 @DjokerNole https://t.co/TocVdEtX8v
Novak Djokovic recently spoke about the missing gold medal for Serbia and made it clear that he was going after it at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
“Yes, somehow it’s been coming in cycles for 10 years, that gold medal for Serbia is missing. I dream about it, the reason I didn’t get to it is maybe that I was stressing too much about it. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future,” Djokovic said.
“The next Olympics is in Paris, it will be played on clay. I know well the club where it will be played, there is still a lot of time until then, two more years. I am old in the sports sense, now I need more time to take care of my body and stay healthy both mentally and physically, to have that longevity in my career,” Djokovic added.