The elasticity, athleticism and variety of Kyrgios have made it one of the best services of modern times, the defeated quarter-final rival Cristian Garin also described it as “the best service of the tour”.
The ATP service rating, an analysis that takes into account the percentage of first serve and points earned, aces and double fouls, among other factors, ranks Kyrgios as the sixth best exponent since records began to be kept. service in 1991.
With a maximum of 120 aces in the tournament at 25 per road match in the Wimbledon final, the Kyrgios game is especially dangerous on the turf tracks, winning almost 91% of the service games on the surface throughout its career.
Particularly when the rockets serve at 220 km / h, either by the T on the track of two or outside with advantage, with both approaches producing a victory rate of 88% for the point.
Although he and Djokovic have alternated between verbal punches and a “bromance” over the past 18 months, the latter has long recognized Kyrgios’ abilities in the service.
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Djokovic has described his efforts to choose Kyrgios’ first serve as “a gamble”, while O’Shannessy points to the Australian’s pursuit as an even bigger lottery for opponents.
“Nick also drastically varies his speed on these second services,” he says. “That day in Indiana, a service went down very slowly at 133 km / h. The next second service it hit was an ace at 202 km / h.
“For most people this is a first service and since then it has only added more variety to their game.
“Novak kept trying to guess Nick’s service. And that’s one of the worst things you can do, guessing lets you lose the instinct of your step and time.
“This second service is definitely a bigger weapon because of Nick’s confidence and willingness to change things, no one else does when they really should try. He has the game to really worry Djokovic and get to the end.” .
For all of Kyrgios ’pyrotechnics, Djokovic’s 33.8 percent win rate on returning the first service is among the best of all time. Thirty-two break points from this tournament (second only behind Cameron Norrie’s 33) prove it.
But the 19 Kyrgios also points to an improvement in the Australian’s return, with a slightly loaded setback emerging as an undervalued weapon on the turf.
“Nick’s setback is the big draw,” O’Shannessy says. “He’s not trying to get a lot of winners or even trying to join him. He’s using it as bait. It’s basically a touchdown and he suddenly comes back to the server faster than they anticipate.
“It gives him powerless bass, especially on the turf at Wimbledon, equals the service of a rival and is greatly undervalued.”
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