Novak Djokovic-Nick Kyrgios Wimbledon final averaged 2.24 million viewers on ESPN, up 44% from 2021 final

Novak Djokovic beat first-time Major finalist Nick Kyrgios on Sunday to win his seventh Wimbledon title. The match had a 2.24 million viewership on ESPN, which was 44% more than the Djokovic-Matteo Berrettini title clash a year ago.

Playing a record 32nd Major final, Djokovic made a rather poor start, dropping his fifth straight set against Kyrgios in three meetings. However, the three-time defending champion rode a lone break in the next set and survived four break points to restore parity.

In the third set, Djokovic engineered another break of the Kyrgios serve from 4-4, 40-0 down before serving out a two-sets-to-one lead. In a more competitive fourth set, Kyrgios came within two points of forcing a decider before Djokovic slammed the door shut. In the ensuing tie-break, the Serb opened up a 6-1 lead before converting his third Championship point to win his fourth straight Wimbledon title.

The match featured high-quality play from both players, with Kyrgios impressing on serve and hitting a few scintillating winners despite playing his first Major final. Djokovic, meanwhile, did what he does best - making the opponent play one more ball - which eventually reaped rich dividends.

As reported by Austin Karp, managing editor/digital for SBJ, the Djokovic-Kyrgios match viewership on ESPN was only dwarfed by the Djokovic-Roger Federer clash in 2019. The 2022 final was watched by more viewers on ESPN than the 2015-18 finals.

In the 2019 title clash, Djokovic saved two Championship points on the Federer serve before triumphing in the first Wimbledon fifth-set tie-break. With that win, the Serb forced an unprecedented three-way tie with Federer and Nadal with 20 Major wins apiece.

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Novak Djokovic creates records galore with 7th Wimbledon triumph

Novak Djokovic on Day Fourteen: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

Novak Djokovic created records galore during his memorable fortnight at SW19 this year.

The Serb opened his campaign with a four-set win over Kwon Soon-woo to become the first player to win 80 matches at all four Majors. Djokovic then recovered from two sets down against Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals before beating Cameron Norrie and Kyrgios from a set down.

That made the Serb the first player in 73 years to win Wimbledon after dropping the opening set in the last three rounds.

Victory over Kyrgios also made Djokovic the fourth man in the Open Era to win four consecutive Wimbledon titles, emulating Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Federer.

With his seventh triumph - level with Sampras - Djokovic now trails only Federer (8) for most Wimbledon triumphs.