Wimbledon: Prince William and Kate Middleton grill Novak Djokovic about how he beat Nick Kyrgios  

Fresh off winning his seventh Wimbledon title, Novak Djokovic had a brief chat with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and son Prince George; but this was no ordinary meeting – the royal couple wanted to know just how the star Serb managed to beat Nick Kyrgios.

The royals are avid tennis fans, and Prince George was his usual animated self while watching the game – and even got his hands on the trophy as his parents quizzed Djokovic on how the 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 win panned out.

While George stood fascinated with the gold trophy, Prince William asked Djokovic how he’d overcome the big-hitting Aussie.

Novak Djokovic chats with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their son Prince George

Novak Djokovic raises the Wimbledon trophy after his four-set win over Nick Kyrgios

‘How was that? Hard work?’ he asked the Wimbledon champ in a video on Wimbledon’s official YouTube channel.

‘It was hot … he has a big serve’ Djokovic replied.

The comment piqued Prince William’s interest. 

‘I was about to say — how do you beat that serve?’ he asked.

It was indeed a hot day in England, with temperatures nudging 30 degrees on Centre Court. 

Kyrgios has one of the fastest serves in world tennis, and also has the ability to show great variety and keep his opponents on their toes.

Djokovic was well aware of the fact, saying he had to ‘to find different ways to win’ when it came to negating the Aussie’s serve.

Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning the Wimbledon final on Sunday night

Kate Middleton then wished the Serb ‘happy anniversary’ and said she hoped he and wife Jelena would be able ‘to have some down time’. 

She also remarked on the ‘speed of the serves’ Djokovic faced from Kyrgios, before the freshly crowned champion turned his attention to Prince George – who is a budding tennis player himself. 

‘What is your favourite shot?’ he asked George, to which the eight-year-old replied it was a ‘forehand’.

Kate Middleton, Prince George and Prince William are regular fixtures at Wimbledon

Prince George, a big tennis fan, was his usual animated self while he watched the game

The adorable Prince gave a double thumbs-up and a big smile when the world number three asked how he liked the game, before Djokovic said he was looking forward to having a hit with him one day. 

Kate, a big tennis fan, is patron of the All England Club and a regular at Wimbledon.

Kate Middleton presents the Wimbledon trophy to Novak Djokovic on centre court

The family have a tennis court at their country home in Norfolk and earlier in the year the Duchess was spotted enjoying a spot of tennis with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at the exclusive Hurlingham Club, in Fulham, where annual membership starts from $2800 a year.

The Duchess also had the honour of handing over the championship and runner-up trophies to Djokovic and Kyrgios – but the ceremony was not without controversy.

The Aussie donned a red Michael Jordan cap to the presentation on-court, despite getting in trouble for wearing an almost identical piece of red headgear when he beat Brandon Nakashima in the fourth round.

Nick Kyrgios receives his trophy from Kate Middleton, wearing a red hat in direct violation to Wimbledon’s strict all-white dress code

Wimbledon’s strict dress code stipulates that white must be worn ‘from the point at which the player enters the court surround’ – but that didn’t matter to Kyrgios as he received the trophy from Kate.

‘He’s a bit of a god,’ Kyrgios said of the Serb, who is now a seven-time men’s singles champion at Wimbledon. ‘I’m not going to lie, I thought I played well.’ 

Djokovic wins Wimbledon title

Novak Djokovic won his seventh Wimbledon title and fourth in a row by coming from behind to beat Nick Kyrgios on Centre Court.

Unseeded Australian Kyrgios veered from laser-focussed to horribly distracted, arguing at times with his box, the umpire and the crowd.

Amidst it all, No1 seed Djokovic produced a display of exceptional consistency, making only 17 unforced errors in three hours and one minute, taking the title 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.

Novak Djokovic kisses the Wimbledon trophy after his win in the final

The 35-year-old Serb now has 21 Grand Slam titles, one more than Roger Federer and one fewer the Rafael Nadal. His form has been patchy this fortnight but, as is so often the case, he brought his A-game in the Championship match.

The set flashed by in half an hour as the match began at Kyrgios’s lightening pace. From early in the second set, though, Djokovic began to elongate the rallies and Kyrgios was forced to grind things out.

Djokovic was too good, winning the match in four sets despite dropping the opener

In the fourth game Djokovic surged 40-0 up on the Kyrgios serve; a lucky net cord and he had broken the Australian’s serve for the first time in his career.

The Serb saved three break points as he served out to win his first set against Kyrgios in their third meeting.

At 4-4, from 40-0 up Kyrgios played a terrible game to be broken and spent the whole of the subsequent changeover shouting at his box, apparently berating them for their flat body language.

Nick Kyrgios appeared frustrated with his box at points in the match

Djokovic is not the man to gift a break to and he served out to move within a set of the title.

As the fourth set progressed Kyrgios looked far more focussed and dangerous as he dragged Djokovic into a tiebreak.

But Kyrgios double faulted in the first point of the breaker and Djokovic closed out the match with ease.

He raised his arms aloft in celebration. That’s 28 wins in a row for Djokovic at Wimbledon and on this evidence, he will take some stopping in 2023.

– Matthew Lambert