Wimbledon 2022 LIVE: Novak Djokovic beats Nick Kyrgios to win seventh men’s singles title

Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios is one match away from a first Grand Slam title but his brother, Christos, said on Sunday the Australian is already a champion in his family’s eyes after winning an off-court battle with his inner demons.

Nick Kyrgios, who in recent years had become well known for his antics and outbursts, opened up on his mental health struggles in February, saying he had had suicidal thoughts in the past.

“For a big chunk of the last six or seven years, I lost my little brother,” Christos wrote in a column for the Sydney Morning Herald. “The world changed him. Tennis changed him. He became distracted, always worried about something.

“People wouldn’t know this but Nick and I stopped talking for quite a while. He was so unhappy in himself that he shut out the people that had his best interests at heart.”

Christos added that he had “got his baby brother back” and credited Nick’s girlfriend, Costeen Hatzi, for helping turn his brother’s life around.

“Since he met his girlfriend Costeen, she’s helped open his eyes again. There was a lot of chaos in Nick’s life before he met her,” he said.

“On Sunday night, I believe the rest of the world will get Nick Kyrgios the Wimbledon champion. For us, we’ve already got our baby brother back. Mum and Dad have got their son back.

“He is already a champion in all our eyes. Seeing him mature and evolve back into the happy fulfilled version of himself is all that I could have asked for ... I just want to see him winning in all aspects of life.”

Kyrgios is the first Australian since 2003 to reach the men’s singles final at Wimbledon and he will take on Novak Djokovic for the title.

Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic may have had a frosty relationship over the years, but the Australian now says it is more of a “bromance”.

Kyrgios caused a stir on a podcast in 2019 when he branded Djokovic “cringeworthy” and claimed he was obsessed with wanting to be liked.

But after Kyrgios criticised Djokovic’s treatment by border officials in his homeland ahead of this year’s Australian Open, he says they are now so friendly they even exchange messages on social media.

“We definitely have a bit of a bromance now, which is weird,” Kyrgios said. “I think everyone knows there was no love lost for a while there.

“I think it was healthy for the sport. I think every time we played each other, there was hype around it. It was interesting for the media, the people watching, all that.

“I felt like I was almost the only player and someone to stand up for him with all that drama at the Australian Open.

“I feel like that’s where respect is kind of earned. Not on the tennis court, but I feel like when a real-life crisis is happening and someone stands up for you.

“We actually message each other on DMs in Instagram now and stuff. It’s real weird. Actually, earlier in the week, he was like ‘hopefully I’ll see you Sunday’.”

Novak Djokovic is happy to see Nick Kyrgios living up to his potential by reaching a Wimbledon final, even though he knows the danger that poses.

Djokovic said: “In a way it’s a surprise because of his ranking. He has never reached a grand slam final. So maybe not too many people are giving him big chances to reach the finals.

“I think, between us players, we always know how dangerous he is, on grass particularly, because of his game, because of his attitude on the court being so confident, just going for it, being a very complete player.

“It seems like mentally he’s at a better state than where he was some years ago. These are the occasions he loves, where he thrives, in a big stage. So in a way it’s also not a surprise for me that he’s there.

“Honestly, as a tennis fan, I’m glad that he’s in the finals because he’s got so much talent. Everyone was praising him when he came on the tour, expecting great things from him.

“Of course, then we know what was happening throughout many years with him mentally, emotionally. On and off the court, a lot of different things that were distracting him and he was not being able to get this consistency.

“For the quality player that he is, this is where he needs to be, and he deserves to be.”

Kyrgios: “I had a shocking sleep last night. I probably got an hour’s sleep just with everything, like the excitement.

“I had so much anxiety, I was already feeling so nervous, and I don’t feel nervous usually.

“I was just restless, so many thoughts in my head about a Wimbledon final. That’s all I was thinking about, imagining myself winning, imagining myself losing, everything.

“I feel like I’m just a reckless ball of energy right now. I just want to go out on the practice court now and hit some tennis balls. I want it to come already. Yeah, I want the final to come already.

“I know that I have to kind of just calm down. There’s still a couple days until that moment. Hopefully tonight I’ll get a better rest, a chamomile tea and a better rest.”

Nick Kyrgios admitted he could not sleep after hearing the news that he is a Wimbledon finalist.

Rafael Nadal, Kyrgios’ semi-final opponent, stunned the Championships on Thursday evening when he revealed he would have to withdraw from the match due to his abdominal injury.

The Spaniard’s decision comes as a huge blow to the tournament, robbing it of one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the year.

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Earlier this week, the news broke that Nick Kyrgios has been summoned to appear in a Canberra court back home in Australia next month amid allegations of common assault against his ex-partner Chiara Passari.

A police statement said: “ACT Policing can confirm a 27-year-old Watson man is scheduled to face the ACT Magistrates’ Court on August 2 in relation to one charge of common assault following an incident in December 2021.”

His barrister Jason Moffett told The Canberra Times in Australia the charge was “in the context of a domestic relationship”.

He said: “The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously. Given the matter is before the court … he doesn’t have a comment at this stage, but in the fullness of time we’ll issue a media release.”

Kyrgios said: “Obviously I have a lot of thoughts and things I want to say, you know kind of my side about it but obviously I’ve being advised by lawyers that I’m unable to say anything at this time.

“So I understand that everyone wants to kind of ask about it and all that but I can’t give you too much on that right now.”

At Wimbledon, Kyrgios’ ex-girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic said she did not experience domestic violence with the Australian while they were together.

Their relationship ended in 2018 and she said: “It’s been a while since our relationship ended so obviously I’ve always kept my relationship very private and I would like to keep it like that.

“I’m definitely against domestic violence and I hope it gets resolved, but yeah I mean haven’t had that experience with him.”

It’s been a run that has seen on-court controversy, brilliant tennis, five-set epics, injury comebacks, and over £10,000 worth of fines, but Nick Kyrgios is into the Wimbledon final. It all could have been over so quickly as he faced Paul Jubb on Court No 3, but Kyrgios produced a masterful performance to defeat Filip Krajinovic and set up a blockbuster third-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

It certainly delivered, with Kyrgios’ behaviour leading to Tsitsipas calling his opponent an “evil bully” after a fiery battle on Court No 1. From there, Kyrgios overcame a shoulder injury to defeat Brandon Nakashima on Centre Court before seeing off Cristian Garin. He was set to face Rafael Nadal and would have liked his chances, but the Spaniard suffered an abdominal tear and was unable to play in Friday’s semi-final.

1st round: vs Paul Jubb 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-7 7-5

2nd round: vs Filip Krajinovic 6-2 6-3 6-1

3rd round: vs Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 6-4 6-3 7-6

4th round: vs Brandon Nakashima 4-6 6-4 7-6 3-6 6-2

Quarter-final: vs Cristian Garin 6-4 6-3 7-6

Semi-final vs Rafael Nadal walkover

It hasn’t always been plane sailing for the six-time Wimbledon champion and top tournament seed, even though Djokovic has reached the final once again. There were a few signs of rust in his opening match against Soonwoo Kwon, as he played his first competitive match in almost four weeks, but his second and third round victories showed ominous form.

Still, Djokovic had to dig deep to see off wildcard Tim van Rijthoven and then even deeper to come back from two sets down to defeat Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. There was a sense of inevitability about Djokovic, though, as he put those matches to bed - just as there was when he was able to overcome a slow start and defeat Cameron Norrie in the semi-finals.

1st round: vs Soonwoo Kown 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4

2nd round: vs Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1 6-4 6-2

3rd round: vs Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0 6-3 6-4

4th round: vs Tim van Rijthoven 6-2 4-6 6-1 6-2

Quarter-final: vs Jannik Sinner 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2

Semi-final: vs Cameron Norrie 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4