Novak Djokovic's brutal Nick Kyrgios remark after Wimbledon final
Novak Djokovic never intended four words from his post-match interview after his Wimbledon victory over Nick Kyrgios to live on in the minds of tennis fans.
There was, of course, much more to the story - but it wasn't necessarily wrong of the 21-time grand slam winner to point out a crucial moment late in the second set that ended up being the biggest momentum swing of the match.
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Kyrgios had the upper hand at 40-0 on his serve at 4-4 in the third set - one more point and he'd be a break away from a crucial third set win, after winning the first in impressive fashion.
Until this point Kyrgios had matched Djokovic at almost every turn, when remarkably, the Serbian star turned on his box.
Typically one might expect Kyrgios to use such a tactic to fire himself up - but instead Djokovic nailed a winner to bring it to 40-15.
Three unforced errors from Kyrgios would follow, including a rare double fault, handing both the break and seemingly the mental advantage to Djokovic.
Kyrgios had already barked once at his box, while up two break points in the second set, but it was the third set turnaround that Djokovic identified as the biggest moment of the match.
“That 40-0 game, he would probably be very upset with himself for losing that game,” Djokovic said..
“I didn’t win it, he lost that game with his unforced errors. I stayed there, pushed him to the limit and got the reward.”
Suggesting that one game was the moment Kyrgios lost an otherwise enthralling Wimbledon final to Djokovic (4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6) would be doing the Australian a disservice however.
Djokovic notes key moment in Kyrgios defeat at Wimbledon
While his performance against Djokovic was nothing to be ashamed of, Kyrgios' mental game was preyed upon by the former World No.1.
Djokovic admitted as much after the match, saying he had 'waited for an opportunity' to test Kyrgios on the biggest stage of his career to date.
“I just wanted to practice getting his serves back and eventually wait for the opportunity. And it was presented.” Djokovic said.
“He played a couple of loose points, double fault on deuce, started talking to his box. Then I felt maybe that’s the moment where I could break his serve, which happened.
“It was a huge momentum shift I think because up to that point, we were quite even. Two sets to one up, things are looking slightly different.”
Knowing that even Djokovic saw Kyrgios had gone toe to toe with him would sting, but should take little away from the Australian's otherwise controversial and impressive run to the final.
Unfortunately for Kyrgios, the frustrations won't end with the loss.
The ATP and WTA's otherwise well-intentioned move to strip Wimbledon of ranking points this year has lead to he, Djokovic and several other top players falling in the rankings due to points deductions still being in place.
Djokovic has dropped from third to No.7 in the world a day after winning an incredible seventh Wimbledon crown.
Equally as ridiculous is Kyrgios falling from 40th to No.45 in the world after reaching his maiden grand slam final.
The rankings fiasco threatens to cost Kyrgios an all-important seeding for the year's final major, the US Open starting in New York on August 29.
Ordinarily, Kyrgios would have soared to No.15 in the world for his Wimbledon run, placing him in position to claim a top-16 seeding at Flushing Meadows.
With AAP
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