Novak Djokovic once again reminded tennis fans why he is arguably the greatest player of all-time. On Sunday, Djokovic defeated Nick Kyrgios to capture his seventh Wimbledon title of his career, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). It was his fourth consecutive Wimbledon championship, which is unbelievably impressive. But matching that is how he did it.
Novak Djokovic became just the second player in the Open Era to win a quarterfinal, semifinal and final of a Grand Slam after dropping the first set. Only John McEnroe in 1981 at the U.S. Open also accomplished that feat.
Novak Djokovic lost the opening set in his quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches.
He joins John McEnroe at the 1981 US Open as the only men's major champions to win his quarterfinal, semifinal and final matches all after dropping the opening set. pic.twitter.com/3RV3HiR32R
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 10, 2022
With the win, Djokovic notched his 21st Grand Slam title of his illustrious career. He pulls one ahead of Roger Federer and climbs within one of Rafael Nadal. Nadal has the most Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis history with 22.
Tennis fans were unfortunately robbed of possible the last magical meeting between Djokovic and Nadal after the Spaniard had to bow out of the tournament prior to his semifinal match against Kyrgios. He is reportedly dealing with an abdomen injury and his status for the upcoming U.S. Open is uncertain.
That could leave the door wide open for Novak Djokovic to tie him with 22 championships. However, among the four Grand Slam events, the Serbian has not found a ton of success at Flushing Meadows. He has only won the U.S. Open three times in his career, the most recent back in 2018.
Admittedly that is insane to say that someone has only won the U.S. Open three times. 99 percent of professional tennis players would give anything to lay that claim. Nevertheless, the battle to see who will finish with the most Grand Slams all-time rages on.
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