Tag: Wimbledon

Confusion surrounded the Wimbledon fate of two-time former champion Andy Murray after back surgery appeared to rule him out of this year’s tournament.

The Scot had been aiming to make a farewell appearance at the grass court Grand Slam, which he won in 2013 and 2016.

However, the 37-year-old will need an expected six weeks to recover from a spinal cyst operation, with Wimbledon starting on July 1.

He now also faces a race against time to be fit for next month’s Paris Olympics, with Murray twice a gold medallist in the singles.

The ATP Tour, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said Sunday that Murray had been ruled out of Wimbledon.

But the post was subsequently deleted, with neither Murray nor his management company yet to confirm if he will be appearing at Wimbledon.

The ATP post said: “After an operation on a spinal cyst, Andy Murray is sadly out of Wimbledon. Rest up and recover Andy, we’ll miss seeing you there.”

Andy Murray managed just five games before a back injury forced him to withdraw from his second-round match against Australia’s Jordan Thompson at the Queen’s warm-up event in London on Wednesday.

The former world number one, who plays with a metal hip, struggled from the start of his match against Thompson and said afterwards he had a feeling of weakness in his right leg and had lost coordination.

“I never had that loss of coordination, control and strength in my leg before,” Murray said shortly after retiring from his match with Thompson.

“I’ve been struggling with my back for a while — I had lost the power in my right leg so lost all motor control, I had no coordination and couldn’t really move.”

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Asked then about his prospects of playing at Wimbledon, he added: “Like all tennis players, we have degenerative joints and stuff in the back, but it’s all predominantly been left-sided for me my whole career.

“I have never had too many issues with the right side. So maybe there is something that can be done between now and then to help the right side.”

Murray underwent minor back surgery in 2013 and following a first-round loss at the recent French Open he said he would need treatment to address soreness.

The three-time Grand Slam champion only returned to competitive action in May after nearly two months out with an ankle injury.

He had been due to play singles and doubles with his brother Jamie at Wimbledon before potentially ending his career at the Olympics in Paris.

Andy Murray has had previous back injuries and underwent surgery in 2013, while also suffering from soreness in recent weeks.

Queen’s — a tournament he has won five times — was just his fourth event following almost two months out with an ankle injury.

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Rafael Nadal confirmed on Thursday he will miss Wimbledon to focus on the Paris Olympics, which will be played on the clay courts at Roland Garros.

The announcement came a day after Spanish tennis chiefs said 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal would team up with Carlos Alcaraz at the Olympics in the French capital, which start late next month.

Nadal, 38, lost in the first round at Roland Garros last month and indicated he was likely to skip Wimbledon, played on grass courts, where he was champion in 2008 and 2010.

The injury-plagued Spaniard, who has slumped to 264 in the world rankings, said after his exit to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev in Paris that switching surfaces would not be “smart”.

“It looks difficult to make a transition to grass, having the Olympics again on clay,” he said at the time.

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The former world number one, who won the Olympics singles title in Beijing in 2008, only returned to competition in April after missing most of the past 16 months through injury.

On Thursday, Rafael Nadal confirmed on social media that he would not be travelling to London to take part in the third Grand Slam of the year.

“During my post-match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practising on clay,” he tweeted.

“It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics.”

He added: “With this goal, we believe that the best for my body is not to change surface and keep playing on clay until then.

“It’s for this reason that I will miss playing at the Championships this year at Wimbledon. I am saddened not to be able to live this year the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart, and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all.”

Rafael Nadal, who teamed up with Marc Lopez to win the Olympic doubles title at the 2016 Rio Games, will warm up for Paris at the Bastad clay court tournament in Sweden, which starts on July 15.

The veteran, second on the all-time list of men’s Grand Slam winners behind Novak Djokovic, will form a doubles team at the Olympics with newly crowned French Open champion and reigning Wimbledon champion Alcaraz.

Both will also compete in singles at the tennis tournament in Paris, which starts on July 27.

Nadal, who has a 7-5 win-loss record this year, said before the start of the recent French Open that there was a chance he might not be back at Roland Garros but insisted he was still keeping the door “100 percent open” on continuing his career.

His withdrawal from Wimbledon, which starts on July 1, is a big blow for organisers, with Djokovic a major doubt after undergoing a knee operation.

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Carlos Alcaraz defeated seven-time champion Novak Djokovic to claim his first Wimbledon title on Sunday, shattering the Serb’s dream of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam crown.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz recovered from dropping the first set and saving a set point in the second to win 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 after four hours and 42 minutes on Centre Court.

It was a second major for Carlos Alcaraz following his US Open title last year as he became Wimbledon’s third youngest men’s champion.

The result will also spark feverish speculation over the start of a generational shift, with 36-year-old Novak Djokovic carrying the torch of the ‘Big Three’ now that Roger Federer is retired and Rafael Nadal is sidelined, perhaps permanently.

Australian Open and French Open champion Djokovic had been bidding to equal Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles, match Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 Slams and become the All England Club’s oldest men’s champion.

When he won his first major at the Australian Open in 2008, Carlos Alcaraz was still three months shy of his fifth birthday.

“You inspire me a lot,” Alcaraz told Djokovic after becoming the third Spanish winner of the title, following in the footsteps of Manuel Santana in 1966 and Nadal in 2008 and 2010.

“I started playing tennis watching you. Since I was born you were already winning tournaments. It is amazing,” he added with a smile after firing 66 winners past the Serb, off-setting his 45 unforced errors.

“I fall in love with grass right now. It’s amazing.”

Nadal took to Twitter to salute Alcaraz, praising him for bringing “immense joy” to Spanish tennis and telling him to “enjoy the moment”.

Novak Djokovic was playing in his ninth final at Wimbledon and 35th at the majors, while for Carlos Alcaraz it was just a second in the Slams following his US Open triumph.

“What a quality at the end of the match when you had to serve it out,” said Djokovic, who had been chasing a fifth successive Wimbledon crown.

“You came up with some big plays in the big situation and you absolutely deserve it. Amazing.

“As for me, you never like to lose matches like these but I guess when all the emotions are settled I’ll have to be very grateful.”

The Serb, who was on a 34-match winning streak at Wimbledon, went into the final not having lost on Centre Court since his 2013 defeat to Andy Murray in the title match.

Alcaraz, who had been crippled by body cramping in his loss to Djokovic in the French Open semi-final in June, was unable to settle in the first set and let a break point slip away in the seven-minute opening game.

Novak Djokovic took advantage and raced into a 5-0 lead on the back of a double break before the Spaniard got on the board.

It was too little, too late as Djokovic claimed the opening set with a smash.

But Alcaraz finally freed himself of his shackles and broke for 2-1 in the second set.

Djokovic hit straight back in the third game before saving a break point in the fourth, coming out on top of a 29-shot rally.

The Serb was hit with a time violation in the tie-break before seeing a set point saved.

Carlos Alcaraz needed no second invitation when he carved out and converted a set point to level the contest with a backhand winner.

The marathon set had taken 85 minutes as Djokovic’s run of 15 tie-breaks won in a row at the majors ended.

Alcaraz broke in the opening game of the third set and again after an exhausting 26-minute fifth game, which went to 13 deuces and saw Djokovic save six break points before he cracked on the seventh.

Carlos Alcaraz backed it up with a rapid-fire service game which took just two minutes in comparison and broke again against the dispirited defending champion to move two sets to one ahead.

Djokovic broke twice in the fourth set, levelling the match courtesy of Alcaraz’s seventh double fault of the final.

But Djokovic wasted a golden chance to break for 2-0 in the decider with a wild smash and Alcaraz made him pay, breaking for 2-1.

A frustrated Djokovic collected another code violation for destroying his racquet against the net post before he slipped 3-1 down.

Carlos Alcaraz was not to be denied and he claimed a famous victory when Djokovic buried a forehand in the net.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic set up a potentially era-defining Wimbledon title showdown after cruising through their semi-finals on Friday with the Serb superstar promising a “feast” of tennis in the championship match.

World number one and US Open winner Carlos Alcaraz, playing only his fourth grass-court tournament, defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Novak Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open and French Open champion, reached his ninth Wimbledon final at the All England Club and record 35th at the Grand Slams by seeing off Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).

On Sunday, the 36-year-old world number two will attempt to equal Roger Federer‘s mark of eight Wimbledon titles and Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 majors.

Djokovic defeated Alcaraz in the French Open semi-finals in June with the Spaniard admitting the stress of facing the Serb had caused severe body cramps that undermined his performance.

“I believe I can beat Djokovic,” said 20-year-old Alcaraz, who was still three months shy of his fifth birthday when Djokovic won his first Slam title in Australia in 2008.

“Everyone knows the legend he is. I will fight. I will believe in myself. There’s no time to be afraid, no time to be tired.”

Djokovic believes his experience in Slam finals will be a key factor but remains wary of the flamboyant shotmaker.

“He’s in great shape. He’s very motivated. He’s young. He’s hungry. I’m hungry, too, so let’s have a feast,” he said.

Alcaraz only won seven games when he suffered a straight sets loss to Medvedev at Wimbledon just two years ago.

Back then, however, he was 75 in the world while Medvedev was number two in the rankings.

On Friday, serve dominated the opener until Alcaraz converted a break point for a 5-3 lead which he backed-up with a love service game.

Medvedev had his only break point snuffed out in the second game of the second set and US Open champion Alcaraz pounced again in the third on his way to a convincing lead.

Alcaraz was a break to the good for a 2-0 lead in the third set before four successive breaks gave the finale a sloppy appearance.

The Spaniard, however, steadied himself, moving into his first Wimbledon final with a spectacular running forehand, his 27th winner of the match.

Djokovic’s victory over Sinner was tinged with controversy when he was penalised for hindrance and warned for slow play in the same game during the second set.

Djokovic, playing in his 12th Wimbledon semi-final, fought off three break points in the first set while only needing one of his own in the second game to secure the opener.

The 36-year-old had declared himself favourite for the title on the eve of the semi-final and he backed up that confidence with another break of the Italian for a 2-1 lead in the second set.

Seven-time champion Djokovic stretched to a 3-1 lead in a bizarre fourth game.

Firstly, he was docked a point for hindrance following a loud grunt which accompanied a down the line backhand.

Umpire Richard Haigh then handed him a code violation for taking too long between points.

“The hindrance early on in the match could have changed the course of the match. I felt nervous after that call, but I managed to re-group,” said Djokovic, the first player, man or woman, to reach 35 finals at the Slams.

“It’s probably the first time it’s happened to me, I don’t normally have extended grunts. Maybe it was an echo in the roof. It was a call that I have to respect.”

Despite that double blow, Djokovic still claimed the set courtesy of his seventh ace of the contest against a player who took a two-sets lead against him in the quarter-finals last year before the champion pulled through in five.

Djokovic squandered three break points in the third game of the third set, then saved two set points in the 10th game.

He turned on his tormentors in the crowd, who were loudly supporting Sinner, by feigning mock tears after he dashed their hopes of a breakthrough for the Italian.

Djokovic then dominated the tie-break to preserve his 10-year undefeated record on Centre Court. He has won 34 matches in a row at the event.

“I feel 36 is the new 26, it feels pretty good. I feel a lot of motivation,” he said.

Sinner warned Alcaraz not to be intimidated by Djokovic in Sunday’s final.

“If you think how big he is, you struggle,” he said.

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Novak Djokovic was standing on the brink of his 35th Grand Slam final and ninth at Wimbledon on Friday as Carlos Alcaraz aimed to book his spot in a blockbuster championship showdown.

Djokovic, chasing a record-equalling eighth title at the All England Club and 24th major, tackles beanpole Italian Jannik Sinner in the day’s opening semi-final on Centre Court.

World number one Alcaraz faces mercurial Daniil Medvedev as the 20-year-old US Open winner eyes a place in his first Wimbledon final.

A win over Sinner would hand Djokovic another record in a career packed with landmarks as it would make him the only player to feature in 35 Grand Slam finals.

“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but of course I would consider myself favourite,” said the 36-year-old.

Djokovic is very much the senior citizen of the semi-finals.

He is nine years older than Medvedev, 15 years the senior of Sinner and he has a 16-year head-start on Alcaraz.

When Djokovic won the first of his 23 majors at the Australian Open in 2008, the Spaniard was still three months shy of his fifth birthday.

Twelve months ago, Sinner was two sets up on Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarter-finals before the Serb came through in five.

During his current 33-match win streak at the tournament, only two other men have taken him to five sets — Rafael Nadal in the 2018 semi-finals and Roger Federer in the epic 2019 final.

When asked how he was planning to defeat Djokovic for the first time, the eighth-ranked Sinner said: “First of all, you have to go up two sets to love.

“It’s going to be a completely different match than last year. He knows me better, as I know him better also.”

Although Djokovic and Alcaraz are still a match away from a Sunday title clash, there is already tension in the air.

Djokovic called for more privacy at the tournament in response to being filmed by Alcaraz’s father during a training session.

The Spanish star laughed off any hint of tennis espionage.

“My father is a huge fan of tennis,” he said after his impressive straight sets win over Holger Rune in the quarter-finals.

“He doesn’t only watch my matches. I think he gets into the club at 11:00 am, gets out at 10:00 pm, watching matches, watching practice from everyone.

“Being able to watch Djokovic in real life, yeah, probably it is true he’s filmed the sessions.”

However, he added: “I have a lot of videos from Djokovic on every platform. I think it’s not an advantage for me.”

Alcaraz managed just seven games in a straight sets loss to Medvedev when they met in the second round of Wimbledon in 2021.

Both men are in the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time and they have captured a season-leading five titles each in 2023.

The 27-year-old Medvedev hasn’t faced a seeded opponent at this year’s Wimbledon, a welcome relief for a man who had never previously gotten past the last 16.

He didn’t get the chance to improve on that in 2022 as all Russian players were banned from Wimbledon in response to the war in Ukraine.

“I always said I want to be here, I want to play. Wimbledon is an amazing tournament,” said former US Open champion Medvedev.

“I wanted to do well because it was my worst Grand Slam. Never managed to get into the flow here to make it click.

“So I was just disappointed last year that I didn’t have this opportunity to try to prove to myself that I can go far in Wimbledon.”

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Novak Djokovic breached the previously impregnable defences of Hubert Hurkacz to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 14th time on Monday.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic, chasing a record-equalling eighth title and 24th Grand Slam, won 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 6-4.

In the fourth set, Djokovic broke for a crucial 4-3 lead, ending Hurkacz’s perfect run of 67 service games at the tournament this year.

Victory in his 100th match at Wimbledon gave Djokovic a 90th win.

He is also on a 32-match win streak at the All England Club, while his 56th Grand Slam quarter-final spot is second only to the 58 of Roger Federer.

“Big credit for Hubert for playing an amazing match, he put up a great performance,” said 36-year-old Djokovic.

“Honestly I don’t recall the last time I felt this miserable on returning games. He has one of the best serves in the world and it’s difficult to read it on one of the quickest surfaces in the sport. It was not enjoyable for me.”

Novak Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev for a place in the Wimbledon semi-finals.

That match will take place on Centre Court, where Djokovic has not lost since 2013.

“I feel a great connection with this court. Every match that I win, every time I step on the court I feel more confident to play the match and hopefully the love affair continues for a long time,” he said.

Novak Djokovic had been two sets up overnight when the match was suspended due to a local curfew.

He had squandered five break points in those sets and Hurkacz eventually made him pay by breaking in the 12th game of the third set on Monday.

But Djokovic hit back to break for 4-3 in the fourth and from then on there was no way back for the 17th-seeded Pole despite his 33 aces and 64 winners.

Djokovic will take a 3-1 career lead over seventh-ranked Rublev into their quarter-final on Tuesday.

Novak Djokovic came out on top in straight sets at the same stage of this year’s Australian Open.

“He’s a different player to Hurkacz for sure,” said the Serb.

“Very powerful, very quick ground strokes, loves to dictate. I’m not going to talk to much about tactics — I will to keep that to myself.”

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Novak Djokovic was on the brink of his 14th Wimbledon quarter-final on Monday as Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz prepared for a testing battle against Matteo Berrettini.

In early action, Russian teen sensation Mirra Andreeva lost to US 25th seed Madison Keys while defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina progressed when Beatriz Haddad Maia quit in tears.

World number three Daniil Medvedev reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final when Czech opponent Jiri Lehecka retired with an injury.

Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic was two sets up against Hubert Hurkacz when play was halted on Sunday ahead of a locally agreed 11:00 pm curfew.

The pair were set to resume on Monday with the winner to face Andrey Rublev for a place in the semi-finals.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic is chasing a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title at the All England Club and 24th career Grand Slam crown.

Top seed Alcaraz is seen as one of the few genuine threats to the defending champion, who has not lost a match on Centre Court for 10 years.

The 20-year-old has little experience on grass but won last month’s tournament at Queen’s to set himself up for a tilt at the Wimbledon title.

He comes up against the dangerous Berrettini, who reached the 2021 final, in the last match of the day on Centre Court.

Berrettini, ranked 38th, was forced to miss last year’s Wimbledon after testing positive for Covid and has subsequently struggled with an abdominal injury.

He is desperate to make up for lost time and said he was relishing the opportunity to take on Alcaraz, who won the Queen’s tournament on grass last month.

“In a way it’s what you want, right? You want to play against the best players in the world. Playing against Carlos, it’s always been like a pleasure, a fight, a great fight.”

The first result of the day was on No. 2 Court, where 16-year-old Andreeva’s fairytale run was brought to an end.

The teenager, who came through qualifying, looked set for a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals when leading Keys by a set and 4-1 but the American fought back to win 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.

The match ended in controversy when Andreeva was handed a penalty point for banging her racquet into the surface.

The sanction took Keys to match point.

In the first match on Centre Court, Elena Rybakina was 3-1 up when Brazilian world number 13 Haddad Maia took a medical timeout to treat a lower back injury.

She limped back onto the court but was reduced to walking pace and was in tears as she saw out the fifth game before retiring.

“It’s never easy to finish a match like this. I hope it is nothing really serious, it is really unlucky for Beatriz,” said Rybakina.

The world number three will face either two-time champion Petra Kvitova or 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur for a place in the semi-finals.

Kvitova, the ninth seed, is showing signs of her best form on grass, nine years after she won the second of her Wimbledon crowns.

Men’s third seed Daniil Medvedev was 6-4, 6-2 ahead when 37th-ranked Lehecka, who had needed a medical timeout for a right foot injury, retired from their Court One clash.

Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on American Christopher Eubanks while 2014 semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov plays sixth seed Holger Rune.

Away from the action on court, All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said there were no plans to issue a statement after Belarusia’s Victoria Azarenka was booed off court following her defeat by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.

As has become common, Svitolina did not shake hands with Azarenka in protest over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus is a key military ally of Moscow.

“Historically in tennis the decision on how a player reacts at the end of a match is entirely a personal decision for them and I think we don’t really want to start mandating what happens,” said Bolton.

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Climate activists interrupted a match on one of Wimbledon’s show courts on Wednesday, scattering orange confetti and jigsaw pieces in their latest protest targeting major sporting events.

Two Just Stop Oil protesters ran onto Court 18 during the first-round Wimbledon match between 21st-seed Grigor Dimitrov and Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro.

A man sat down near the net and removed his jacket while a woman was escorted away by officials.

One fan shouted “Get off the court” as spectators booed and jeered.

Just Stop Oil wants the UK government to end all new oil and gas exploration and has promised not to let up in its protests until it does so.

The group issued a statement confirming it was behind the demonstration.

“The supporters threw environmentally friendly orange confetti glitter and jigsaw pieces onto the court, before being removed,” it said.

“Play was briefly delayed whilst marshals picked up the pieces.”

Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, who took part in the action, said in the statement: “I’m here for my grandchildren and everybody else’s.

“I’m not prepared to let our politicians wreck everything and leave the next generation to pick up the pieces.”

A spokesman for the All England Club said: “Following an incident on Court 18, two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the grounds.

“Play on the court was temporarily paused and, following a suspension in play due to a rain delay, play is about to resume.”

Wimbledon chiefs have tightened security following demonstrations elsewhere.

Three protesters from Just Stop Oil ran onto the ground during the second Ashes cricket Test at Lord’s last week, sprinkling the group’s trademark orange powder.

There were similar demonstrations during the recent World Snooker Championship and English Premiership rugby final, while the group has also targeted Premier League matches.

Former world number four Tim Henman, who sits on the board of the All England Club, said it was difficult to guarantee protests would not happen.

“You prepare as best you can,” he told the BBC. “Obviously, the challenge when you’ve got 35,000-plus people coming to your grounds and you’ve got 18 fields of play, it’s not easy.

“So it will be important for everyone to understand the facts and where these people have come from but it’s frustrating.

“We’ve had enough disruptions with the weather. To get a disruption like that as well is disappointing.”

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Wimbledon will celebrate Roger Federer’s achievements at the All England Club with a special ceremony on Centre Court on the second day of the championships on Tuesday.

The Swiss eight-time champion, who announced his retirement last September, will visit the scene of some of his greatest triumphs and be honoured before the start of play.

“I’m pleased to say that Roger will be with us tomorrow and we will have a special celebratory moment on Centre Court before play starts just to honour him as the man holding the most gentlemen’s singles titles here at Wimbledon,” All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said on Monday.

She added: We’ll have a moment just to celebrate his achievements and to say thank you for all the memories.”

Roger Federer, 41, has mostly stayed away from tennis since bowing out in emotional scenes at the Laver Cup in London but was similarly honoured at the grass-court event in Halle, Germany last month.

Bolton revealed that Serena Williams, 41, who bowed out a few weeks earlier at the US Open, had also been invited to Wimbledon but was unable to travel.

“We invited Serena similarly this year but as you’ll know she’s pregnant so understandably couldn’t travel,” said Bolton.

“We of course wish her lots of luck with the remainder of her pregnancy and we hope maybe we might see her next year.”

Novak Djokovic is the hot favourite to equal Federer’s men’s record of eight singles titles at Wimbledon this year and secure his 24th Grand Slam title.

The Serb created history last month when he outclassed Casper Ruud to win the French Open title and captured a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam title.

The 36-year-old Serb brushed off an early wobble to defeat Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-5 to win a third French Open title and snap the tie of 22 Slams he shared with career-long rival Rafael Nadal.

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LONDON: The defending champion Novak Djokovic roared back to thump Britain Cameron Norrie in the second-semi-final 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to set up the Wimbledon final clash with Nick Kyrgios.

The Serb has moved one victory away from winning his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title and a seventh overall as he sank his Britain opponent Norrie with his aggressive and precise groundstrokes.

In an enduring semi-final, the defending champion found tough competition from Norrie, who forced him to ante his level up as the latter ran away with the first set after sheer dominance.

Djokovic, on the other hand, wasted no time in bouncing back in style, increasing his intensity, demonstrating great touch from all angles, and beginning to find his spots on serve as he turned the tables in the second set to level.

The Serb continued to attack in the third set as he made the most of the drop in intensity of Norrie’s groundstrokes’ power and took a decisive lead in the match by claiming his second set.

The fourth and final set of the match, then followed the same pattern as Djokovic kept testing Norrie with his aggressive approach and soon went on to claim the victory.

Following this victory, Djokovic will now face Australian Kyrgios in the final, who received a walkover victory from the Spaniard Rafael Nadal as a result of his abdominal injury.

The former world number one has now won 27 consecutive matches at Wimbledon, and a 28th victory would give him his fourth title in a row.

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