Maxime Cressy will face Alexander Bublik in the final of the Hall of Fame Open after beating four-time champion John Isner on Saturday.

Cressy will play his third championship match of the year on Sunday following a 6-2 4-6 6-3 defeat of his fellow American in Newport.

The 25-year-old fired down 22 aces and won 82 per cent of points behind his first serve, breaking three times to move into the final.

Cressy had a stroke of luck for the only break of the deciding set, when he lobbed a shot just over the net and it bounced back onto his side to leave Isner 5-3 down. He then served out the match to end Isner's 10-match winning run in this event.

Bublik sealed his place in the final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Jason Kubler.

Third seed Bublik did not face a break point and broke the Australian three times, sealing his victory in an hour and nine minutes.

There will be an all-Argentinian final at the Swedish Open between Francisco Cerundolo and Sebastian Baez.

Baez produced an upset, securing his first win against a top-10 opponent with a 6-2 6-4 defeat of second seed Andrey Rublev in Bastad.

Cerundolo got the better of Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-2, ensuring he will face his compatriot for the first time at tour-level.

 

 

Andy Murray will continue to play professional tennis for as long as he keeps "seeing progress" in his game, the Scot has revealed.

The former world number one was knocked out of the Hall of Fame Open by Alexander Bublik on Friday, with the Kazakh winning their quarter-final 7-5 6-4 in Newport.

It follows Murray's disappointing second-round exit at Wimbledon to John Isner, and while the 35-year-old wants to see results improve, he was optimistic ahead of the switch from grass to the hard-court season.

"Obviously I just want the results to be a bit better," Murray told the ATP Tour website. "I felt like I had a good chance of [winning] here. If I got through Bublik, it would have been a good opportunity potentially in the semi-finals.

"But… to have my body feeling pretty good and getting lots of matches in is important for me."

Murray did have some success on grass this year, including reaching the final of the Stuttgart Open before losing to Matteo Berrettini.

"There were some good moments, but also some tough ones," he added. "Today's match and the loss at Wimbledon were disappointing and frustrating for me, but then I also had my best wins in a while in Stuttgart.

"So a bit up and down, but a little bit of progress overall and I'll try and keep that going through the hard-court summer.

"[I want] to continue to improve. If I keep seeing progress I’ll continue to keep playing."

Murray met NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins earlier in the week, with the Minnesota Vikings star praising the tennis supremo's "grit", and Murray revealed Cousins was looking to incorporate tennis into his own preparations for the new season.

"I'd never actually met any NFL athletes before, but he seemed like he loved his tennis and he was saying that he feels like a lot of the movements you make in tennis are similar to a quarterback," Murray added.

"He would prefer to do an hour of tennis to an hour of agility drills, which I can understand as you get a little bit older, trying to keep things fresh and fun in training in pre-season is important."

Roger Federer won his eighth Wimbledon men's singles title on July 16, 2017, when he swatted aside Marin Cilic to move past Pete Sampras and Willian Renshaw on the all-time list.

The Swiss great spurned match points against Novak Djokovic in the 2019 final, and in all likelihood it will be eight and out for Federer.

To mark five years since that last triumph, when Federer picked apart a blister-hit Cilic, Stats Perform has selected five Wimbledon classics featuring the 20-time grand slam winner.

It would have been easy to select many more, with Federer having won 105 of his 119 singles matches at Wimbledon, but these stick in the mind.

 

2001: Sinking Sampras, announcing impending greatness

Three years on from winning the boys' singles title, it was a 19-year-old Federer who came to Wimbledon 2001 in pursuit of a first main-draw win. He had lost in round one in 1999 and 2000, to Jiri Novak and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, but his talent was becoming widely known. This time Federer advanced to the quarter-finals, fending off Christophe Rochus, Xavier Malisse and Jonas Bjorkman, before running into the great Pete Sampras in round four.

Sampras had mopped up four in a row and seven of the last eight men's singles titles at Wimbledon, but the American's reign would be ended by the teenage Federer, a sensational 7-6 (9-7) 5-7 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 winner.

The beaten Sampras offered a prescient comment after the match, saying: "There are a lot of young guys coming up, and Roger is one of them. But I think he's a little extra special than some of the other guys."

Federer would lose to Tim Henman in the quarters of a tournament that was won by wildcard Goran Ivanisevic, and in 2002 Federer crashed to Mario Ancic in round one, but from 2003 to 2007 the man from Basle was unbeatable in SW19, lifting the title five years in succession.

This was the victory that made him believe it possible.

2008: Nadal halts Federer charge

Federer's glory run had taken in final wins over Mark Philippoussis, Andy Roddick (twice) and Rafael Nadal, also on two occasions. When it came to the 2008 trilogy clash between the five-time champion and the Spanish youngster, the previous year's five-set title match had pointed to likely fireworks.

In 2007, Federer had fended off a charge from the Spaniard to breeze through the decider, but it would be a different story third time around. Perhaps the greatest Wimbledon final in living memory was capped by late-night drama as Federer, who had not dropped a set until the showpiece match, roared back from a two-set deficit, saving match points in the fourth-set tie-break, to set up a winner-takes-all finale.

Earlier rain delays meant it was 21:15 BST when Nadal crossed the winning line, the clay-court king triumphing 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-7 (8-10) 9-7 after four hours and 48 minutes of a raging, breathtaking battle to bring to an end Federer's reign on grass.

2009: After one trilogy final, could Roddick defy Federer in another?

Journalist: How would you describe what you did today?

Andy Roddick: I lost.

That press conference exchange just about summed up Roddick's floored state of mind after he succumbed 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14 to Federer in their third Wimbledon final.

The American played a spectacularly great match over four hours and 16 minutes and yet was still beaten by his long-time rival, whose victory gave him a record 15th men's grand slam title, as 14-time winner Sampras watched on.

Federer served 50 aces that day, many of them in a staggering tense final set, simply refusing to lose.

2010: Saving face against Falla

A year on from the Roddick epic, Federer was plunged into another in round one when Colombian left-hander Alejandro Falla looked like pulling off an upset for the ages.

Falla was the talk of the sporting world when he snatched the first two sets, and the world number 60 had three break points against Federer's serve at 4-4 in the third.

Federer clung on, and in the fourth he again repelled the danger when Falla served for the match at 5-4 ahead. From that point, having spurned glorious opportunities to close it out, Falla faded and ended up losing 5-7 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-1) 6-0.

It was a reminder that Federer can be a scrapper too, winning on off days, refusing to submit to humiliation.

2016: Cilic classic leaves Federer "ecstatic"

This was the quarter-final that fuelled hopes the meeting of Federer and Cilic in the 2017 final would prove to be another Wimbledon masterpiece.

That title match, a year later, proved an anti-climax, but this tussle in the last eight was spellbinding, with Cilic going two sets clear and having three match points in the fourth.

Having beaten Federer in the US Open semi-finals two years previous, Cilic again produced lights-out tennis, only to find the great champion across the net stubbornly refusing to give ground as the match reached its climax.

Federer scrambled admirably to snatch a 6-7 (4-7) 4-6 6-3 7-6 (11-9) 6-3 victory, saying: "I'm ecstatic I was able to come through. It wasn't going well for me, so it was about staying in the match somehow, hoping for his level to drop maybe a little bit, and get a little bit lucky. It was an incredible match."

He could not keep it going, losing another five-setter to Milos Raonic in the semi-finals, but Federer would be back a year later to land his eighth, and surely last, Wimbledon title.

Alexander Bublik beat Andy Murray to reach the semi-finals of the Hall of Fame Open, while Dominic Thiem was knocked out of the Swedish Open on Friday.

Bublik and Murray have now beaten each other two times apiece this year after the third seed won 7-5 6-4 in Newport.

The Kazakh overpowered the three-time grand slam champion to move into the last four, winning 80 per cent of his first-serve points and breaking three times.

Murray hit back straight after being broken at the start of the second set, but the former world one trailed 4-3 after failing to hold for a third time and Bublik did not give him another look-in.

Bublik will do battle with Jason Kubler for a place in the final after he defeated fellow Australian James Duckworth 7-5 7-6 (7-3).

Sebastian Baez ended Thiem's encouraging run to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 win in Bastad.

Thiem, who has endured an injury nightmare, won his first match 14 months by beating Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round and followed that up by getting the better of Roberto Bautista Agut, but the former US Open champion will go no further.

Argentinian Baez will now come up against Andrey Rublev after the second seed from Russia saw off Laslo Djere 7-5 6-4.

Pablo Carreno Busta blew Diego Schwartzman away in a 6-1 6-0 thrashing, while Francisco Cerundolo got past Aslan Karatsev in straight sets.

Dominic Thiem declared he is "definitely back" after reaching the Swedish Open quarter-finals, while Hall of Fame Open favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out in the second round. 

Thiem earned his first tour-level win in 14 months by downing Emil Ruusuvuori on his Bastad debut, before reaching his first quarter-final of the season by overcoming Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.

The Austrian battled to a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4 victory over the fourth-seeded Bautista Agut, picking up his first top-20 win since beating Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in 2020.

Sebastian Baez, who defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets, awaits in the next round and former world number three Thiem is ready for the task.

"The win against Emil gave me confidence that I can compete against the best players in the world and today against Roberto," said Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion.

"He is always such a tough opponent. I was expecting and hoping it would be a close match. Then when I won the first set in the tie-break I said 'Hey, I can win today.' 

"I had the belief until the end of the match and the third set was really good. It is a process. I beat Ruusuvuori and today I beat Bautista Agut.

"Two really top opponents, so if I can beat them I am definitely back. I am into the quarters of a really strong tournament, so I am happy. It is a process, but I am going the right way."

Second seed Andrey Rublev was made to work for his 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-2) victory over Federico Coria and will meet Laslo Djere, who defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime resumed his match with Jason Kubler in Newport that was suspended due to bad light on Wednesday with a slight advantage but fell to a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) second-round loss.

That marked a first top-10 victory for Kubler, continuing his fine 2022 season that saw him achieve his best major result at Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round at the All England Club.

Fourth seed Maxime Cressy is yet to drop his serve at the tournament but needed to survive a first-set scare against fellow American Steve Johnson to triumph 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-4.

Second favourite John Isner will meet Cressy in the semi-finals after battling past fifth seed Benjamin Bonzi 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5).

Novak Djokovic intends to compete at the US Open at the end of August, but will not risk a reoccurrence of the vaccination-related furore that saw him deported from Australia.

The Serbian lifted his seventh Wimbledon title earlier this month, moving level with Pete Sampras for the second-most wins at the All England Club, only behind Roger Federer (eight).

Djokovic also returned to just one grand slam title behind Rafael Nadal's record of 22, with the US Open that starts on August 29 the final headline act of the 2022 season.

While Djokovic enjoyed more Wimbledon success, it was only his second major of the year after the world number seven missed the Australian Open in January due to his refusal to be vaccinated.

His insistence to not take the vaccination against COVID-19 also saw him miss the Indian Wells Masters in March, owing to the United States' coronavirus rulings.

The United States still does not allow unvaccinated foreigners to enter the country without an exemption – meaning Djokovic's ability to appear in New York is in doubt.

Despite expressing his hopes to feature at the hard-court major, Djokovic insisted he will not be willing to face a repeat of the ongoings in Australia in order to compete.

"I'm not going to go to America if I don't have permission, so the Australian saga for me was not pleasant at all," he said after opening a tennis complex in the Bosnian town of Visoko.

"People still think I forced my way to Australia and tried to come in with no papers, permission or exemption – it is not true.

"That was proven in the court cases, so I would never go into a country where I didn't have permission to travel. I would love to come back to Australia. I love Australia, I had my best Grand Slam results in that country.

"Hopefully I can be there in January because I want to be there, and I also want to be in New York. I want to be in America and everywhere I can possibly play."

 

Djokovic remains hopeful for a change in policy in America given he has no intentions to take the vaccination, nor does he envisage an exemption coming.

"I am a professional tennis player, I don't go into politics or anything else because that doesn't interest me," he added.

"I have my stance and I am a proponent for freedom to choose what is best for you. I respect everything and everybody, and I expect people to at least respect my decision.

"If I have permission, I'll be there. If I don't, I won't be there – it's not the end of the world."

Casper Ruud was a surprise second-round loser as the Swedish Open defending champion fell to Francisco Cerundolo, while the favourites battled through at the Hall of Fame Open.

Ruud, a French Open finalist and defending champion in Bastad , lacked his usual composure as world number 39 Cerundolo broke him three times to win 6-4 3-6 7-5 on Wednesday.

That marked a first top-10 career victory for Cerundolo after defeating world number five Ruud, guiding him to his first quarter-final appearance at the tournament.

"I'm feeling amazing, I'm really happy," said Cerundolo, whose previous best result was beating world number 24 Gael Monfils. "It's amazing getting my first Top 10 win. It's been the best year so far in my career.

"He's a French Open finalist and was the defending champion here, so it was a big challenge for me and I'm happy to go through."

Aslan Karatsev awaits in the quarter-finals Cerundolo after downing Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-2 6-4.

Fifth seed Pablo Carreno Busta survived a first-set scare to defeat 2016 champion Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.

The victory was Carreno Busta's 250th tour-level triumph and he will next face third favourite Diego Schwartzman, who overcame Elias Ymer in straight sets.

Third seed Alexander Bublik was made to work for a 6-3 3-6 6-2 second-round victory over Jack Sock in Newport and Andy Murray edged past Wimbledon doubles champion Max Purcell.

Murray needed almost two-and-a-half hours to get the better of Purcell, eventually triumphing 4-6 6-2 6-1 to tee up a last-eight meeting with Bublik.

Fourth favourite Maxime Cressy had little trouble in beating fellow American Mitchell Krueger 6-3 6-4 and will next face Steve Johnson, who progressed past seventh seed Jiri Vesely with a walkover.

Benjamin Bonzi, ranked as fifth seed in the United States, eased past Christopher Eubanks in straight sets, while James Duckworth triumphed 7-5 3-6 6-2 over Quentin Halys.

John Isner joined the list of favourites who made the third round in routine fashion, beating Peter Gojowczyk in straight sets 6-3 7-6 (8-6), before top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime faced some adversity against Jason Kubler following the Australian's strong run into the fourth round of Wimbledon.

Auger-Aliassime has a slight advantage, leading 6-4 3-6 6-5 before play was suspended due to poor light. When play resumes, Kubler will serve with a chance to force a third-set tiebreak.

 

 

Andy Murray stormed to a straight-sets win over Sam Querrey at the Hall of Fame Open in Rhode Island, while 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem earned his first victory in over a year in Sweden.

Murray needed less than an hour to record a 6-2 6-0 triumph over the big-serving American, setting up a last-16 meeting with Australia's Max Purcell.

Three-time grand slam champion Murray hobbled out of his last meeting with Querrey at the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2017, a defeat which marked the start of his injury woes.

But he produced a polished display on the grass to wrap up his eighth career win over the American on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Rhode Island, eighth seed James Duckworth battled to a 6-2 4-6 6-2 win over Liam Broady, and seventh seed Jiri Vesely raced to a 6-4 6-2 triumph against Spain's Feliciano Lopez.

Meanwhile, Thiem ended a 426-day wait for a Tour-level win by overcoming Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5) at the Swedish Open.

The Austrian, who has won 17 career titles, halted a run of 10 consecutive losses on the ATP Tour with his first triumph since he beat Marton Fucsovics at the last-32 stage of the Internazionali d'Italia in May 2021.

The 28-year-old expressed his delight at ending his drought in the aftermath, saying: "It's a long time. My last victory was in Rome in 2021, it feels like a different world somehow.

"Many, many things happened. It was tough, but it was also a very good experience I think, for life in general. I'm so happy that I got this first victory here today."

Thiem will face fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the last 16, while Sebastien Baez will take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after the former beat Fabio Fognini in straight sets.

The round of 32 did see two shock exits, however, with seventh seed Holger Rune succumbing to a 6-3 6-3 defeat against Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler, and Nikoloz Basilashvili being forced to retire at one set down against Hugo Gaston.

Also, Francisco Cerundolo beat Pedro Sousa to set up an enticing clash with top seed Casper Ruud.

Dominic Thiem halted a run of 426 days without a win at ATP Tour level on Tuesday, ending a dismal chapter in the career of the former US Open champion.

The Austrian, who has won 17 titles and earned $26.8million (£22.5m) in prize money, finally got another victory when he fended off Emil Ruusuvuori in round one of the Swedish Open.

It was a first success at tour level for 28-year-old Thiem since he beat Marton Fucsovics at the last-32 stage of the Internazionali d'Italia in May of last year.

He did it the hard way too, coming from a set down and prevailing in a deciding-set tie-break, winning the match 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5).

It brought to an end a run of 10 consecutive defeats on the ATP Tour for the former world number three, who won the US Open in 2020 but has plunged to 339th in the rankings.

Thiem recently elected to skip Wimbledon in an effort to work on his game. His losing run was interrupted by a nine-month lay-off with a wrist injury, which he suffered in a match against Adrian Mannarino at the Mallorca Championships in June 2021.

Since returning to action he had lost six ATP Tour matches in succession. A first sign of form returning came with a first-round win last week in Salzburg on the Challenger Tour, the level below the main tour, although he was beaten by Facundo Bagnis in his next match.

Thiem will look to keep up his progress when he faces Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in round two in Bastad.

John McEnroe claims "tortured" soul Nick Kyrgios can play a big part in shaping the future of tennis, if he finds a way to manage his demons.

Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios repeatedly lost his cool during his run at the All England Club, aiming cruel jibes at on-court officials, swearing during matches, being hostile to his own support team, and even spitting towards a spectator on one occasion.

It made it all the more remarkable that the Australian navigated a path through to the title match, albeit benefiting from a walkover in the semi-finals when Rafael Nadal pulled out with an abdominal injury.

McEnroe was no stranger to a vitriolic outburst during his playing career, earning the nickname of 'Superbrat'.

The 63-year-old is well positioned to assess the volatile Kyrgios, whose talent has never been in question but often rubs up awkwardly against his application and attitude.

Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, McEnroe said: "I get a lot of what's going on here more than most people.

"He's a good kid, the players like him, he's well liked in the locker room, he does a lot of charity work.

"But he's got demons you know, in a way – we all have this fear of failure, and it's a question of how you best deal with it."

McEnroe said Kyrgios "moves the needle for us in tennis", suggesting the 27-year-old has skills that can move the sport in an exciting direction.

"We need this big time, but we don't need him to try half the time," McEnroe said.

The likes of Novak Djokovic, who got the better of Kyrgios in Sunday's Wimbledon final, along with Nadal, are in their mid-30s and cannot keep going forever. Roger Federer, now without an ATP ranking after a year of inactivity, is widely assumed to be close to retiring.

It remains to be seen whether Kyrgios, who has been summonsed to face a common assault charge in Australia, invests more into his tennis career in future. He appears to have an on-off love affair with the sport, being reluctant to let it dominate his life.

Of the world's top 100, only Djokovic and Nadal have played fewer ATP tournaments than Kyrgios' 12 events in the past year. Djokovic (11 tournaments) has missed some events due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination, while injuries have limited Nadal's involvement to nine events.

McEnroe said Kyrgios "is a genius out there" on the court.

"He needs Sigmund Freud to come out of the grave and somehow figure out a way to keep this guy going for a couple of years because we could use him," said the American.

Kyrgios would likely not submit to such psychoanalysis, having been rattled by the coverage of his tantrums rivalling that of his tennis during the Wimbledon fortnight.

McEnroe added, speaking to BBC Sport: "You know he's sitting there and he's obviously tortured in certain ways. [He's] unbelievably talented, very smart."

Pablo Carreno Busta bounced back from his Wimbledon disappointment to claim a straight-sets victory over Stan Wawrinka at the Swedish Open.

Carreno Busta was forced to pull out of his first-round clash with Dusan Lajovic at the All England Club because of a leg injury.

But back to fitness and back on the clay in Bastad, Carreno Busta – playing in only his sixth tour-level event since missing 13 months due to a foot problem – battled past Wawrinka 7-5 6-4.

The fifth seed said afterwards: "It was a very tough match for me in the first round. Against Stan it is always very difficult to start the tournament, so I'm happy because I thought my level was good.

"I played very solid from the baseline. It was a bit difficult with the wind, but I thought my serve was very good throughout the match. It was very important to my game."

Elsewhere in the draw, Laslo Djejre overcame Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets and home hope Elias Ymer beat Daniel Altmaier.

Jason Kubler reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and he continued his fine form on grass at the Hall of Fame Open by defeating Australian compatriot Jordan Thompson 6-2 6-3. Kubler will now face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.

Steve Johnson enjoyed a run to the third round at SW19 and was victorious on home soil in Newport, the American beating countryman Stefan Kozlov, while Peter Gojowczyk defeated Ugo Humbert in straight sets.

There was more joy for home fans as Jack Sock eased to a 6-1 7-6 (7-2) win over Radu Albot. Sock will next play third seed Alexander Bublik for a place in the quarter-final.

 

Tennis great Roger Federer is no longer ranked by the ATP Tour after his remaining ranking points expired, meaning he has dropped out of the top 100 for the first time this century.

The 40-year-old has not played since undergoing knee surgery after a straight-sets defeat to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2021, having also missed much of the 2020 season with a similar injury.

But Federer, a 20-time grand slam champion, has repeatedly ruled out retiring and recently said he intends to make an ATP Tour comeback in 2023.

His remaining ranking points have now expired, meaning he has not only dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in almost 23 years, but he is no longer ranked at all by the ATP.

According to Opta, the last time the Swiss superstar was not ranked among the 100 best players in the world was October 4, 1999, a remarkable 8,316 days ago.

Daniil Medvedev remains as world number one, while Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic slipped to seventh in the rankings despite his win over Nick Kyrgios at SW19 on Sunday, as ranking points were stripped in this year's tournament.

Novak Djokovic has slipped to seventh in the ATP Tour rankings despite winning Wimbledon, where ranking points were stripped in this year's tournament.

Players from Russia and Belarus were banned from competing at the third major of the year due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The ATP and WTA retaliated by stripping ranking points from the event at the All England Club, where the likes of world number one Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev did not feature.

Moscow-born Elena Rybakina, who switched to represent Kazakhstan four years ago, lifted the women's title in the singles competition, while Djokovic triumphed for a fourth straight time in the men's event.

Yet, Djokovic has lost 2,000 rankings points – the standard total awarded to a grand slam singles champion – after winning in SW19 last year, with no such rewards available on this occasion.

That meant the Serbian has dropped from third place to seventh, his lowest position since August 2018 when he fell to 10th.

Djokovic moved within just one major title of Rafael Nadal's record of 22 grand slams, and the Spaniard has jumped up one spot to third.

Medvedev and Alexander Zverev are unmoved as the respective top two after losing just 180 rankings points in the latest edition. Both missed Wimbledon, with the Russian banned and the German still injured.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz make up the top six after climbing a place each, while Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner are the trio behind Djokovic.

Nick Kyrgios appeared in his maiden major final against Djokovic at Wimbledon as world number 40, the lowest-ranked grand slam male finalist since Marcos Baghdatis (54) at the Australian Open in 2006.

Just a day later Kyrgios has dropped five places to 45th in the rankings, losing 90 points from his third-round berth last year. If the ban was not imposed, the Australian would have broken into the top 20.

Cameron Norrie is another loser from the ranking points fallout. His run to the semi-finals at the London major would have seen him climb to eighth, but instead he has to settle for 11th.

Novak Djokovic is hoping for a change of policy to allow him to feature at the US Open after ending an "exhausting and demanding period" by winning his seventh Wimbledon title.

Djokovic clinched his 21st grand slam win by recovering from one set down to beat Nick Kyrgios in Sunday's Wimbledon final, moving to within one major title of Rafael Nadal's record of 22.

On his 32nd grand slam final appearance – an Open Era record – the Serb claimed his fourth consecutive title at the All England Club with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory in a tense encounter.

But it has not been plain sailing for Djokovic this year, who missed January's Australian Open after being deported over his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and was unable to enter the United States to play the Indian Wells Masters in March.

The United States still does not allow unvaccinated foreigners to enter the country without an exemption – meaning Djokovic's ability to appear in New York is in doubt.

But he is hopeful a change in policy could alter that state of affairs before the tournament gets underway on August 29, as he reiterated he would not get vaccinated and saw an exemption as unlikely. 

"It is a weird situation," Djokovic said. "I am on vacation. It has been quite an exhausting and demanding period for me. I got what I wanted here. 

"I'll wait hopefully for some good news [a change of policy] from the US. I'm not vaccinated and I'm not planning to get vaccinated. I don't think exemption is realistically possible.

"We'll have to see what the schedule looks like then. I doubt I'll chase points. Things have changed in the last year and a half for me. 

"I achieved the historic weeks of being ranked number one, that I worked for all my life. Now I prioritise slams and big tournaments where I feel good."

 

Djokovic's Wimbledon triumph comes at the end of a challenging few months, with the 35-year-old losing year's US Open final and exiting the 2022 French Open to Nadal either side of his much-publicised deportation from Australia. 

And the Serb, who claimed a first career win over Kyrgios on the biggest stage on Sunday, acknowledged: "This year has not been like last year.

"In the first several months of the year I was not at a good place mentally, emotionally. Everything that followed Australia has been a huge challenge and obstacle for me to overcome emotionally. 

"It wasn't that easy to close that chapter. It caused turbulence inside of me and I just had to weather the storm.

"I realised it would take time to regroup and rebalance. All these things off the court were causing so much distraction and pressure for me and the people around me. You can’t pretend it's not happening.

"By Rome and Paris I was already playing the tennis that I want to play. I liked my chances coming into Wimbledon. I think I managed everything pretty well today.

"Now I'm over the moon with joy and happiness of experiencing this moment once again. I don't take any wins for granted, and particularly not in Wimbledon. Every time feels special in its own way.

"Centre court and this tournament still has the most special place in my heart because it has always been my childhood dream tournament. Every time I step out on court it does not feel like anything else. I feel very connected with this court and this tournament. I'm very happy."

Nick Kyrgios added further praise for Novak Djokovic in the news conference after a 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) Wimbledon final defeat.

First-time finalist Kyrgios had lauded his opponent as "a bit of a god" on court after a 21st grand slam success, with Djokovic ultimately having too much for his opponent.

And those generous words continued in the interview room, where Kyrgios acknowledged Djokovic's renowned return ability was a huge factor in the result – as was his composure.

Kyrgios had started beautifully, winning 81 per cent of his service points in the opening set and taking advantage of a pair of double-faults to grab the early advantage.

But Djokovic's return game picked up from that point, taking the sting out of the Australian's best weapon as his success rate on serve plummeted, winning 57 per cent of his service points in the second frame and 58 per cent in the third.

Kyrgios also committed four double-faults in the third to hand a set advantage to the world number three, and when the fourth set came to a tie-breaker, it was Djokovic who would hold his nerve.

"[Djokovic] is just really composed," Kyrgios said. "It's weird, I felt like he didn't do anything amazing today.

"He returned obviously the way he returns – I feel like he's just a great returner – but he was just so composed. I feel like that's his greatest strength: he just never looks rattled."

Not disheartened from falling just short of his first grand slam title, Kyrgios said he had taken plenty of confidence from his run to the final.

"My level is right there," he said. "I'm not behind the eight ball at all. 

"I played a slam final against one of the greatest of all time, and I was right there. [It gives me] confidence obviously.

"It was a hell of an occasion. People were probably expecting me to have something happen today. 

"But I came out in the first set and I looked like I was the one who had played in a lot of finals. I thought I dealt with the pressure pretty well."

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