Australian football icon Wayne Carey says he has always known Nick Kyrgios has been living a lie and now it is there for everyone to see.
The biggest match Australian men’s tennis has had for 20 years has arrived.
The stage is set for Nick to Kyrgios to become the first Aussie male to win a grand slam since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 when he faces Novak Djokovic in Sunday night’s blockbuster Wimbledon final.
It is the 27-year-old Aussie’s first time in a grand slam final, while Djokovic is chasing a 21st slam, which will put him one behind Rafael Nadal in the battle for GOAT status.
Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments including Every Finals Match. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Kyrgios has had a turbulent path through to the final and admitted in his final press conference on Friday he has been struggling to sleep as a result of the anxiety he has surrounding the biggest match of his life.
Here is everything you need to know about the start time of the match and how you can watch it.
Aussie football legend calls out Kyrgios lie
AFL legend Wayne Carey has sensationally suggested Nick Kyrgios has lived his career hiding behind a lie just hours before Sunday night’s final.
The North Melbourne icon said he has noticed a change in Kyrgios, watching the Canberran show more emotional bravery and vulnerability on and off the court.
It is something many commentators have noticed.
“The opposite is starting to come out,” Carey said on Triple M Footy.
“He’s always said, ‘I don’t love tennis. I just do it because I can and I make money’. There’s the excuses. That’s what’s always disappointed me because he has the talent, but the excuse has always lied there.
“But it’s creeping through now. He’s always cared. It’s coming through now that he really does care. This is why it’s going to be must watch. Now we know he cares. He’s in a final. So will he be able to handle that pressure?”
He spoke after former AFL coach Ross Lyon accused Kyrgios of playing his whole career trying keep in his comfort zone.
“I felt he needed the alibi, the excuse,” Lyon said.
“If you see his genetic God-given talent — he hasn’t in my view been prepared to give everything and dedicate himself and let himself be emotionally vulnerable. That’s the piece I don’t like about him.
“I don’t think he lets himself be emotionally brave to be devastated.”
The change in Kyrgios has been noticed by tennis pundits keeping a keen eye on him at Wimbledon.
Broadcaster Catherine Whitaker said while the Canberran has been “quite unpleasant” and “disagreeable” at times in London — whether that be with opponents, officials or journalists — it’s impossible not to appreciate the new light with which he’s viewing his charge at the All England Club.
“One thing I have enjoyed from Nick Kyrgios was admitting how much he cares,” Whitaker told The Tennis Podcast, which she co-hosts.
“And we’ve always known all along that he cares, and all this ‘not caring’ or performatively ‘not caring’ is one big defence mechanism.
“I know I’m doing armchair psychology again but I feel pretty confident in this one.
“I do like that he’s just saying it (that he cares). He says, ‘I’m already nervous, I’m already cripplingly nervous. I don’t usually get nervous but I am’.
“He wants this one and he’s happy to say he wants it.”
Wife reacts to astonishing Djokovic record
Novak Djokovic created history when he became the first player ever to appear in 32 grand slam finals on Saturday — and now an ever more amazing record has been uncovered.
The 35-year-old has not lost at Wimbledon since 2017. He has won three consecutive Wimbledon titles since then, with the event not held in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
It means he has won 37 consecutive matches on Wimbledon’s iconic centre court and has not lost inside the famous venue since 2013. His two defeats since then were on Court 1.
Tennis analyst Matt Roberts first posted the record on Twitter — and it impressed even Djokovic’s wife Jelena.
“I didn’t know that. Wow,” she responded on Twitter.
Djokovic is playing in the Wimbledon final for the eighth time and can win the championship for a staggering seventh time if he overcomes Kyrgios.
‘Weird’ Kyrgios, Djoker exchange goes viral
Nick Kyrgios spoke about his “bromance” with Novak Djokovic in his final press conference before Sunday night’s Wimbledon final and the pair are embracing their new-found love for one another.
Just 18 months ago Kyrgios told reporters at the 2021 Australian Open he didn’t like the Serbian star “at all” but after the Canberran was one of few players to publicly support Djokovic during his deportation ordeal Down Under earlier this year, the duo have become unlikely allies.
Re-posting a tweet from Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo about the rivals’ improved relationship on his Instagram story, Kyrgios asked Djokovic if they were “friends now”.
Djokovic replied on his own Instagram account, writing: “If you are inviting me for a drink or dinner, I accept. PS winner of tomorrow pays.”
Kyrgios continued the banter, responding: “Deal, let’s go to a nightclub and go nuts.”
Originally published as Nick Kyrgios vs Novak Djokovic Wimbledon final live: AFL legend calls out lie
