"I still think about that every day... Every thing in my career led up to that match” - Nick Kyrgios on loss to Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon 2022 final

Nick Kyrgios recently recollected the memories of his loss to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Wimbledon Championships 2022.

Kyrgios' Wimbledon 2022 performance remains his best-ever campaign at the Grand Slams thus far. He began his journey that year with a win over home-favorite Paul Jubb before defeating the likes of Filip Krajinovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Brandon Nakashima, and Cristian Garin to reach the semifinals.

He received a free pass in the semifinals as his opponent Rafael Nadal pulled out because of an injury. He then took Djokovic in the all-important summit clash on Centre Court. Notably, Kyrgios entered the finals with a 2-0 head-to-head lead over the Serb. Moreover, he hadn't dropped a single set in their two duels.

Kyrgios managed to push Djokovic on the back foot early as he clinched the opening set in a little over 30 minutes. The Serb, however, characteristically staged a comeback and won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3).

In a recent conversation with Frances Tiafoe for an episode of the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast, the Aussie revisited that final and admitted to having regrets. He said [at 8:22]:

"I won the first set and I'm two sets away... I feel like I still think about that match every day like what if I had played those two sets better like I won five sets in a row against Novak. I beat him twice before that, didn't drop a set, won the first which means five sets in a row and then I lose three straight.

"I didn't sleep for two nights leading up to that match. I literally got like two hours of sleep, I was so anxious like every little thing that I did in my career led up to that one match, every gym session, every rehab session, every ice bath, every cold shower, led up to that one moment and it was just crazy that I was that close."

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Nick Kyrgios: "My era was so tough like... playing prime Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray every fourth round"

Nick Kyrgios

In the same episode of the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast, Nick Kyrgios further told Frances Tiafoe about the competition he had to face in the form of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray, in his younger days.

"My era was so tough like, when I was 21-22, playing prime Novak, Nadal, Federer, and Murray, every fourth round, if you think about it, they were unbeatable. I make it to the fourth round… it was like everything, then I was left in the draw with these guys, I needed to be born five years later," the Aussie said [at 9:58].

Interestingly, Kyrgios was able to beat Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer the first time he faced them. He first played against Nadal in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2014 and scored a surprising 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3 win.

Nick Kyrgios then downed Federer 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12) in a Round-of-32 clash at the Madrid Open the following year before triumphing over Djokovic 7-6(9), 7-5 in their first duel in the quarterfinals of the Acapulco Open 2017.