Nick Kyrgios makes big Carlos Alcaraz prediction and says Novak Djokovic was 'odd' in Wimbledon final
Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the competition for a second time
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BBC pundit Nick Kyrgios believes Carlos Alcaraz will be the face of tennis for many years to come after his stunning Wimbledon final win over Novak Djokovic on Sunday.
Alcaraz cruised to victory on Centre Court, with the 21-year-old winning 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 to secure glory.
He now has four Grand Slams to his name as a result of his win. The 21-year-old won his first major at the US Open in 2022, before proceeding to claim Wimbledon last year.
Alcaraz, prior to this year's event at SW19, won the French Open for the first time.
Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the competition for a second time
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And Kyrgios, who has been working as a pundit for the BBC this summer, believes Alcaraz is set to be the poster boy for tennis.
"Alcaraz will carry our sport a long way," he said. "He will be the face of this sport alongside [Jannik] Sinner.
"He had three match points and somehow focused for the tie-break.
"The biggest enemy he'll have is his body.
"How healthy can he stay? I think he'll have upwards of 15 slams for sure."
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Tim Henman also lavished praise on Alcaraz, dubbing the youngster 'phenomenal'.
"It was an annihilation. Alcaraz was phenomenal," he said.
"The tone was set in the first game where Alcaraz broke Djokovic. He was relentless and gave Djokovic nothing to get his teeth stuck into.
"Djokovic hung on in that third set and got it to a tie-break but today was all about one man."
Djokovic struggled for momentum throughout the showdown and never really got going, despite improving in the third set.
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Kyrgios thinks the world No 2 'panicked' during the showdown, dubbing the 37-year-old's performance 'odd'.
"I think last year Alcaraz started really slow but this year was a totally different story," added the Australian.
"He came out with a lot of energy and there was a 15-minute first game and he got the break and that really set the tone.
"I think Novak started panicking a little bit with the game plan, started serving and volleying, he went to the net probably more times today than he had previously in any other match [in the tournament].
"Djokovic has beaten every great of the game - Federer, Nadal, playing his game style, so coming out today with something completely different was definitely odd.
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Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz sent a classy message to Novak Djokovic after his defeat on Sunday
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"Whether it was him not being able to go physically the way he wanted - maybe he wanted to keep points short.
"But as I said, Alcaraz was feeling it a little too much.”
Alcaraz, meanwhile, was delighted after his win and sent a classy message of condolence to Djokovic.
Wimbledon: Nick Kyrgios has lavished praise on Carlos Alcaraz after his final win over Novak Djokovic
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Speaking to Annabel Croft on Centre Court, the Spaniard said: “I’m so nervous doing this speech I forget to mention Novak and his team.
"You guys have done unbelievable work after having surgery, making the final.
"And my team … all the support, every day, every week, it’s unbelievable to have you there. Hopefully we are going to have more times like this."