Tim Henman had strong opinions when reacting to a serve from Nick Kyrgios against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
The unpredictable Australian made a fast start on serve in his maiden Grand Slam singles final against the top seed and reigning champion on Centre Court.
Kyrgios, who is unseeded at the All England Club, took just minutes to delight the fans with an underarm serve, which may well have been the first during a Wimbledon singles final.
Despite how successful the tactic often is, on this occasion, Djokovic was very much ready and waiting and had no trouble at all pouncing to punish it.
Thankfully for Kyrgios, he was 40-0 up on serve when he attempted the underarm delivery and he managed to hold from 40-30 without the game having to go to deuce.
But Henman was less than impressed with the tactic – which he says is normally totally legitimate – given Djokovic was not standing very far back behind the baseline and the speed of the grass courts at SW19.
“Is that the first underarm serve in a Wimbledon final?” Henman wondered on commentary for the BBC. “I love the way Kyrgios has started.
“There is a bit of chat around the underarm serve, whether it’s disrespectful, but it’s nothing of the sort, it’s a legitimate tactic.
“But I think on a grass court it’s an appalling tactic. You are inviting someone to come to the net and attack you, so whether we see it again or not…”
Todd Woodbridge added: “It’s a rhythm-breaker, but you can see the issue with the underarm serve is that Novak wasn’t that deep when returning.
“So he got up to this quite early, then he is in the box seat really. But 40-0, he has brought the show early on.
“It depends on the returner’s position. [Rafael] Nadal would be another four metres deeper than where Novak has started today.”
While Kyrgios won the opening set, Djokovic roared back to take the second. An explosive rant then followed as the Australian complained about a fan who was “drunk out of her mind” after “700 drinks”.
Djokovic eventually fended off a typically feisty Nick Kyrgios in the final, 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(3), to claim his seventh Wimbledon crown and 21st Grand Slam title.
In an explosive, heated and tense battle, Djokovic simply had too much for Kyrgios when it really mattered, and after a very challenging year so far, the Serb was able to add yet another Wimbledon title to his collection, moving one behind Roger Federer, and close the gap to one Grand Slam behind his other great rival, Rafael Nadal.
