Novak Djokovic had predicted "fireworks" in Sunday's Wimbledon final with Nick Kyrgios, tennis' self-proclaimed bad boy and as combustible a sports star as they come.
In some regards that proved true, with Kyrgios providing those in attendance and watching at home with a run-through of his greatest hits.
There was plenty of ranting from start to finish – some perhaps going too far – with the odd interaction with the crowd and a broken racquet or two thrown in for good measure.
In between all that, Australia's first finalist here since Mark Philippoussis in 2003 produced some remarkable shots, an underarm serve and brilliantly executed tweener included.
Love him or hate him, this was Kyrgios at his ill-tempered best, and he went a long way to showing there is more to him than just a petulant twentysomething by taking the first set.
At that point, Kyrgios had reeled off five sets in a row across three meetings with his opponent without dropping one. But this is Djokovic, on Centre Court, in a grand slam final.
And so at the end of a three-hour battle, it was Djokovic who prevailed 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) to make it 21 major titles, pulling him back to within one of Rafael Nadal's record.
It was the enforced withdrawal of Nadal that gave Kyrgios his route into the biggest match of his career, and thus denied the millions viewing around the world their dream final.
While witnessing tennis' two greatest ever players face off once more would have made for quite the spectacle, this was a Championship clash that provided subplots galore.
One of the themes of this year's tournament has been Djokovic's uncharacteristically slow starts, almost teasing opponents into thinking they had his number before striking back.
He trailed Jannik Sinner and Cameron Norrie in the past two rounds and so that proved again versus Kyrgios, who with those slow starts in mind let Djokovic serve first.
That appeared to be a masterstroke when Djokovic double-faulted first up, yet the Serbian recovered – as he so often does – to hold and settle into the match.
But Kyrgios went on to earn the only break of the first set in the fifth game and let out a huge roar of "Let's go!". If anything, that only worked to fire up his opponent even more.
This was hardly unchartered territory for Djokovic, who also lost the opener in last year's final against Matteo Berrettini before battling to victory in four sets.
The second set proved far more comfortable for the 35-year-old, promoting Kyrgios to take a different approach as he let loose at the umpire. It would not be the last time.
If Kyrgios stuck to his half of the bargain by being his usual self, Djokovic did likewise by focusing solely on his tennis and taking a well-contested third set with a solitary break.
As the lowest-ranked finalist in a grand slam final since Marcos Baghdatis (50) at the Australian Open in 2006, world number 40 Kyrgios surely knew his number was up.
And so it proved as for the 13th time in 15 grand slam matches when losing the opening set, it was Djokovic left celebrating as he claimed a seventh Wimbledon crown.
This latest comeback also made Djokovic the first player since Ted Schroeder in 1949 to win the title after dropping the first set in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
It will almost certainly not be the four-in-a-row champion's final title, either, though it remains to be seen if Kyrgios will scale these heights again any time soon – if at all.
On this occasion, Djokovic simply proved a step too far as Kyrgios' fireworks fizzled out at the climax of a fascinating Wimbledon campaign.
Novak Djokovic overcame a spirited Nick Kyrgios in four sets to claim his seventh Wimbledon title and 21st grand slam crown on Sunday.
Centre Court played host to a match-up of contrasting experience, with Kyrgios playing his maiden major singles final in what was Djokovic's 32nd such showpiece – an Open Era record.
Djokovic ultimately held his nerve, taking a fourth straight title at the All England Club with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory to move one behind Rafael Nadal's record 22 grand slam titles.
The Serbian also moved level with Pete Sampras in terms of Wimbledon triumphs, only one behind Roger Federer's eight.
Kyrgios was offered a shot at the title after Nadal withdrew from their semi-final with injury, and he struck first with a break in the fifth game as a nervy Djokovic produced a double fault.
Djokovic continued to struggle to cope with the big-serving Kyrgios, who registered back-to-back aces to take the first set, in which he did not offer the Serbian a single break point.
But Djokovic soon regained his composure and finally broke Kyrgios for the first time in their third career meeting, before saving four break points in the ninth game to level the match.
Kyrgios, irked by a code violation for audible obscenities when displeased with a member of the crowd, then failed to hold his serve at 4-4 as frustrations grew, with Djokovic keeping his cool to secure the third set.
World number 40 Kyrgios rediscovered his serving rhythm to take the fourth set to a tie-break, yet he then made a series of unforced errors as Djokovic secured the title in SW19 once again.
Data slam: Djokovic's Wimbledon dominance continues
At 35 years and 49 days old, Djokovic became the second-oldest man to lift the Wimbledon title in the Open Era, and the Serbian's four consecutive successes at the All England Club only rank behind the five-win streaks of Bjorn Borg (1976-1980) and Federer (2003-2007).
Djokovic has also won 86 times at the London major, his best record in a single grand slam, with only Federer (105) winning more matches at Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, having lost the opening set in each of his past three matches, Djokovic became the first player in the Open Era to win the title at Wimbledon after dropping the first set in the quarter-final, semi-finals and final – and the first overall since Ted Schroeder in 1949.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Djokovic – 46/17
Kyrgios – 62/33
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Djokovic – 15/7
Kyrgios – 30/7
BREAK POINTS WON
Djokovic – 2/4
Kyrgios – 1/6
Max Verstappen was pleased to have minimised the damage from a difficult Austrian Grand Prix despite seeing Charles Leclerc claim victory at the Red Bull Ring.
Verstappen, who had won three of the previous four Austrian Grands Prix at the circuit and prevailed at last year's Styrian Grand Prix at Red Bull's home track, looked set to continue his dominance having claimed pole position in qualifying and eased to first place in Saturday's sprint.
Despite a clean getaway helping him stay in the lead exiting turn one, Verstappen's Red Bull lacked the pace of the Ferraris of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as he struggled with tyre degradation.
Sergio Perez's collision with George Russell and subsequent retirement left Verstappen without a team-mate on track and at the mercy of the two Scuderia drivers, and Ferrari executed their strategy superbly to put themselves in position for a one-two.
However, Sainz's engine failed on lap 58 as he was preparing an overtake of Verstappen for second place, meaning the Dutchman was able to keep his championship lead at 38 points as he came home behind Leclerc, who managed a throttle problem in the closing laps to end a seven-race winless run.
Asked about the end result given his struggles compared to Ferrari, Verstappen replied to Sky Sports:
"It was better than expected. If you look at the whole race, we were lacking pace. There was a lot of deg and I don't really understand why it was that bad.
"It looked like Carlos was also going to overtake me, but unfortunately he encountered engine trouble. At the end, to only lose five points over a weekend is not too bad on a bad day.
"It's been a bit more tricky than I expected it to be today, but sometimes these things can happen."
Pressed on the exact issue with the tyres, Verstappen said: "There was no grip and I could not manage my tyres like I wanted to because they were degrading a lot.
"It seemed like we had a bit of an off day and they [Ferrari] had a very strong day."
Verstappen's commanding lead at the halfway stage of the season makes him the clear favourite to retain the drivers' championship.
However, Ferrari's obvious advantage on Sunday suggested the race is far from run with 11 races still to go.
Verstappen said when asked if the battle will go the wire: "It's a bit difficult to say after today; if you look at today, it looks not that great for us, but things can turn really quickly, so it's a bit difficult to tell."
After being counted on to be 'the man' for much of his career, John Wall is excited about being on a Los Angeles Clippers team where he will not be the focal point of the offense.
Wall, who signed a two-year deal with the Clippers after being waived by the Houston Rockets, said he does not now need to be "Batman every night".
"That's the ultimate goal for me is [at] this part of my career, I don't want to have to be the Batman every night to try to win," Wall said.
"On our team that we have, I think anyone can be Batman."
The Washington Wizards selected Wall with the number one overall pick in 2010, and he led the team in scoring in five of his nine seasons in the nation's capital before being traded to the Rockets for Russell Westbrook in December 2020 after sitting out the entire 2019-20 season while recovering from heel surgery.
Wall averaged 20.6 points with the Rockets in 2020-21 but only appeared in 40 games. Last season, he did not play at all as Houston tried to figure out what to do with the five-time All-Star as they rebuilt the roster with younger players.
Wall's 40 games in 2020-21 mark his only appearances in the NBA over the past three seasons.
"My last three years, I was in the darkest place I have ever been,” he said. "I don't think a lot of people could have gotten through what I went through."
The Clippers are looking forward to the 2022-23 season with Wall on the roster and Kawhi Leonard returning after missing all of last season due to a torn ACL.
"I kind of looked at the picture of like, where can I go [where] I don't have to be the John Wall from 2016 and have to carry the load and do all those [things] and have the pressure on me," Wall said.
"I think [the Clippers were] missing a piece of having a point guard, and it's a great situation for me to be there."
Wall is expected to compete with Reggie Jackson for the starting point guard job with the Clippers, who lost both games in the play-in round last season after going 42-40.
"For me, I'm just happy to play basketball again," Wall said.
"I'm a competitor. I know a lot of people ask me, 'Are you mad if you start or not start?' I don't care. I'm a competitor, and I just want an opportunity to go out there and compete for a spot, and if I get it, I get it.
"And if I don't, we know how talented Reggie Jackson is and what he's done for this team and helping these guys out, especially when Kawhi and [Paul George] were out. Even when they were [healthy], he's a great piece. Whoever gets the spot is great."
Charles Leclerc reignited his Formula One world championship ambitions with victory in the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
Throughout qualifying and Saturday's sprint, all signs pointed to defending world champion Max Verstappen continuing his run of dominance in Spielberg and extending his lead in the drivers' standings.
However, in cooler conditions on Sunday, the Ferraris of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had a clear edge over the Red Bull of Verstappen, who had a clean getaway to stay in the lead into the first corner.
The Scuderia also made the perfect strategy calls to get themselves in position for a one-two, only for Sainz to be denied by an engine failure on lap 58.
Despite a worried Leclerc experiencing problems with his throttle, he held on to clinch a third victory of the season, although Verstappen's advantage in the standings remains 38 points.
Sainz had to go off the track at turn one to protect against a fast-starting George Russell, who was soon given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision after he made contact with Sergio Perez at turn four, with the Mexican sent into the gravel and eventually forced to retire because of the damage.
Leclerc got past Verstappen with a brilliant overtake down the inside of turn four on lap 12, and Perez's exit from the equation put Ferrari in full control of the race and in the rare position of seeing their strategy working to a tee.
Following his second stop, Leclerc got ahead of Verstappen for good on lap 53 at turn three, and Sainz appeared set to repeat the feat five laps later on turn four, only for smoke to begin billowing from the back of his car.
Sainz's fiery exit, which led to a virtual safety car under which Leclerc and Verstappen both pitted, understandably caused nerves for his team-mate.
Leclerc, who saw victories in Barcelona and Baku taken away from him by an engine failure, was soon reporting issues with the throttle, and Verstappen began to loom in his mirrors.
But his car held together to allow him to weave across the finish line in delight, with Lewis Hamilton profiting from Sainz's misfortune to take third behind Verstappen and ahead of Mercedes team-mate Russell. Esteban Ocon was fifth for Alpine.
Lewis Hamilton is "disgusted and disappointed" amid reports of racist, homophobic and abusive behaviour by spectators at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull Ring plays host to Formula One this weekend, but the behaviour of supporters has already been repeatedly in the spotlight.
Mercedes driver Hamilton questioned the crowd after many cheered a crash involving the seven-time world champion on Friday.
The 37-year-old labelled the reaction of supporters as "mind-blowing", with many supporting home favourite Max Verstappen, who was jeered by sections of the crowd at the British Grand Prix last weekend.
The race weekend at Spielberg has also seen reports of sexist and homophobic abuse, and the F1 released a statement saying they were investigating the matters on Sunday.
Hamilton has since taken to Instagram to condemn the behaviour in Austria, where the abuse, as well as harassment, has clouded the 11th race of the season.
"Disgusted and disappointed to hear that some fans are facing racist, homophobic and generally abusive behaviour at the circuit this weekend," Hamilton posted.
"Attending the Austrian Grand Prix or any GP should never be a source of anxiety and pain for fans and something must be done to ensure that races are safe spaces for all.
"Please, if you see this happening, report it to circuit security and to @f1, we cannot sit back and allow this to continue."
Hamilton, seeking his first victory of the 2022 campaign, will start the race in eighth, with Verstappen in pole after triumphing in the sprint on Saturday.
Cofidis star rider Guillaume Martin had to abandon the Tour de France before Sunday's ninth stage of the race after a positive COVID-19 test.
The 29-year-old Frenchman had been hoping to improve on last year's overall eighth-placed finish.
He sat 14th overall, three minutes and two seconds behind yellow jersey holder Tadej Pogacar, after Saturday's stage from Dole to Lausanne, but tests since then have confirmed he has the coronavirus.
Cycling's governing body, the UCI, said Martin had been withdrawn "due to the application of the COVID-19 health protocol". There have been several such cases during this year's race, prompting the UCI to urge all participants to wear masks when not racing while also encouraging social distancing.
England head coach Eddie Jones says rugby union's laws are "out of control" after a high number of cards were again issued across this weekend's Test matches.
Jones saw up close two players get sin-binned in England's 25-17 win over Australia on Saturday as Marcus Smith and Izaia Perese were penalised for deliberate knock-ons.
The 62-year-old did not feel either player deserved to be issued a yellow card, which was also the general view of spectators watching on.
Referee Jaco Peyper was even more card happy in Ireland's historic away win in New Zealand, meanwhile, dishing out three yellows and a red in the first half alone in Dunedin.
On the back of another day of contentious decisions, Jones has called for "common sense" to prevail from officials.
"The game's out of control," he said. "You saw the New Zealand and Ireland Test – at one stage, commentators couldn't count how many players were on the field!
"You had three backs packing a scrum. We've gone the full hog where everything's a red card, yellow card and there needs to be some common sense.
"I picked the referee's pocket [before the game] – he had plenty of cards in it."
While Jones was adamant neither Smith nor Perese should have been cautioned, opposite number Dave Rennie said he could understand the referee's call.
"There's no doubt Izzy is trying to catch it," Rennie said. "It's certainly different from an intentional slap down, but I have no issue with that decision."
Head coach Andy Farrell says his "little old Ireland" can compete with anyone in the world after setting up a series decider with New Zealand.
Ireland were comprehensively defeated in the first Test against the All Blacks, losing 42-19, but responded with a 23-12 victory in the second meeting to claim their first away win in New Zealand on Saturday.
Victory in Dunedin teed up a winner-takes-all decider at the Sky Stadium in Wellington next weekend, with New Zealand looking to set the record straight and seal the series win on the North Island.
While Farrell expects another tough task, the 47-year-old insists Ireland will not shy away from the challenge as they fancy themselves against any side in the world.
"We always get a response, don't we?" he said. "Everyone knows that, history tells you that. We're used to it by now. We'll look forward to that.
"We've created a little bit of history for ourselves, little old Ireland, but we've earned the right to take it to the last weekend to see what we can do in the final week.
"The players back themselves against anyone and the more we can keep giving them, these occasions of playing the best teams in the world, the better they're going to get."
The task for Ireland in the second Test was somewhat eased by the first-half dismissal of New Zealand prop Angus Ta'avao.
Ireland did have to absorb some pressure in the second half, though, and Farrell pinpointed their defensive resolve as proof of the continued development of his side.
"I suppose the most impressive thing that we are doing pretty well at this moment in time is understanding where we're at, each moment at a time and staying calm and not getting too overawed or frustrated with errors or decisions or not executing," he continued.
"We're pretty good at trying to stay neutral and stay on task and it's helping us to play in these big games and compete."
A second-string Ireland team were defeated 32-17 by the Maori All Blacks at the end of June in Hamilton, and Farrell also plans to offer those players a chance to make amends against the same team on Tuesday.
"There are bigger things to think about in regard of this tour for us," he added.
"We've some young lads in that changing room that have been inspired by these lot [the Test team], who want to get back out there again on Tuesday night and perform well against the Maoris.
"These lads have taken a lot of pain, that's what we've put them under, the pressure of taking them out of their comfort zone.
"The weeks have been totally different to what they've been used to before because of us trying to play five games in such a short space of time and there's been no whinging.
"They've been mentally really tough and they'll back the lads up as well to make sure they're in good form for Tuesday night."
Formula One chiefs are investigating "unacceptable" behaviour from spectators at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The conduct of fans at the Red Bull Ring this weekend has been in the spotlight after Lewis Hamilton was cheered following a crash in qualifying on Friday.
Mercedes driver Hamilton hit out at the "mind-blowing" reaction of supporters, which are mainly made up of Max Verstappen followers at Red Bull's home race.
It comes a week after Verstappen was jeered by a section of the grandstands at the British Grand Prix, where Hamilton is a home favourite.
The race weekend at Spielberg has also seen reports of sexist and homophobic abuse, as well as other forms of harassment.
F1 addressed those allegations in a statement released ahead of the main event on Sunday.
"We have been made aware of reports that some fans have been subject to completely unacceptable comments by others at the Austrian Grand Prix," the statement read.
"We take these matters very seriously, have raised them with the promoter and event security, and will be speaking to those who reported the incidents.
"This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
Verstappen will start Sunday's race on pole after winning Saturday's sprint, while Hamilton – still seeking his first victory of the 2022 campaign – is down in eighth.
Lewis Hamilton has criticised spectators for their "mind-blowing" decision to cheer when he crashed in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying.
The Mercedes driver lost control into Turn 7 and skid into the barriers close to the Red Bull Ring grandstands, which are largely packed with Max Verstappen fans this weekend.
Hamilton was on course to challenge Verstappen for pole prior to Friday's crash, but he instead finished in 10th before being bumped up a place after Sergio Perez was penalised.
Speaking after making up one position to finish eighth in Saturday's sprint race, which establishes the grid for Sunday's main grand prix, Hamilton hit out at those who cheered.
"I don't agree or condone any of that, no matter what," he said. "A driver could have been in hospital and you are going to cheer that?
"It is mind-blowing that people would do that, knowing how dangerous our sport is. I am grateful I wasn't in hospital and wasn't injured.
"You should never cheer someone's downfall, someone's injury or crash."
Hamilton escaped unhurt, with the incident coming less than a week on from Zhou Guanyu's horror crash at the British Grand Prix when he somehow avoided any serious injuries.
Red Bull's Verstappen was booed by a section of supporters at Hamilton's home race at Silverstone, but the Briton is not a fan of drivers being jeered.
"It shouldn't have happened at Silverstone, and it shouldn't have happened here," he said.
Verstappen won the sprint to claim eight points and start on pole for the Austrian Grand Prix, while Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are second and third respectively.
Lamar Jackson is hopeful of having a long-term deal with the Baltimore Ravens before training camp but is not thinking about a possible holdout.
Jackson is entering the final year of his rookie contract, with seemingly little progress made on an extension.
He is due to earn $23million in 2022 and when asked by USA Today if he would agree to a deal before camp, Jackson replied: "Hopefully.
"I'm not going to say 'yeah' right now. Hopefully. But it's God's timing."
On the subject of a potential holdout, Jackson said: "I don't have that on my mind."
The league's pre-eminent dual-threat quarterback, Jackson won the MVP award in his second season in 2019 after throwing for 3,127 yards and 36 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He also ran for 1,206 yards and seven scores.
However, the Ravens suffered a shock Divisional Round loss to the Tennessee Titans to end that season and were eliminated at the same stage of the 2020 campaign by the Buffalo Bills.
Jackson endured an injury-hindered 2021 season, throwing 16 touchdowns to 13 interceptions and adding a career-low two touchdowns on the ground as the Ravens missed the playoffs with an 8-9 record.
No player in the NFL has a higher yards-per-carry average over the course of the last three seasons than Jackson's 6.36.
Veterans are scheduled to report to Ravens training camp on July 26.
Damian Lillard insisted that while he wants to compete for an NBA title, he wants to do it with the Portland Trail Blazers and will be able to "live" with it if he does not achieve that goal.
Lillard confirmed a two-year extension with the Blazers, seeing him through to the 2026-27 season with the team that took him with the sixth pick in 2012 NBA Draft.
The six-time All-Star played only 29 games for Portland this past season, undergoing abdominal surgery in January before being shut down for the rest of the campaign.
Speaking at a news conference to announce the signing at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the 31-year-old made it clear he is will be loyal to Portland as long as he can compete there.
"I've always said that if I do something that goes against who I am, and say I do end up winning, I know me better than any of y'all know me," Lillard said.
"So I'd be happy with it, because I don't think anybody wouldn't be happy being a champion, but it wouldn't be as fulfilling to me as I would want that moment to be.
"It's going to get done or it's not going to get done. I don't want to go out there with this crazy uphill battle that I'm fighting and we need a miracle times 10 to get it done. I just want a shot at it, and if that happens and it doesn't work out, then I can live with that."
While Lillard was sidelined, the Blazers made pulled off a number of trades before the February deadline, which included sending back-court partner CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans.
They have then made moves to build around Lillard this off-season, acquiring Jerami Grant from the Detroit Pistons as well as signing free agent Gary Payton II, who was a key defensive piece to the Golden State Warriors' title run.
With that in mind, Lillard takes a sense of pride in Portland opting to build around him while he recovered, especially in this era of player power in the NBA.
"I don’t think that you earn something like this just by going out there and scoring a bunch of points," he said.
"Something that’s missing in our league is character, and the fight and the passion and pride about, you know, not just the name on the back, but the name on the front, and how you impact the people that you come in contact with."
Alex Verdugo led the way for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, as they dramatically came from behind to defeat the New York Yankees in extra innings.
Verdugo claimed three hits from five at-bats and sparked his side's fightback, scoring the game-tying single in the eighth inning.
Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead with RBI doubles in the 10th inning, both scoring off Jake Diekman.
However, the Red Sox left-fielder responded, scoring a two-run single in the bottom of the extra inning to cap off a three-run frame and hand his side the win over their old rival.
Boston moved to second in the American League East at 46-39, but the Yankees still hold a 15-game lead with the MLB's best record at 61-24.
Rodon rolls for Giants
Carlos Rodon was in spectacular form to inspire the San Francisco Giants to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in divisional ball.
The Giants had lost eight of their past 10 games and Rodon's last start capped off a five-game losing streak. The 29-year-old pitched a complete game, allowing his only run in the second inning.
The left-hander retired 22 of the Padres' final 23 batters while allowing only three hits for only the third complete game of his career.
Mets make it count in extra innings
The New York Mets overcame injuries to Starling Marte and James McCann to maintain their lead in the National League, defeating the Miami Marlins 5-4 in extra innings.
Tomas Nido hit the game-tying double with two outs in the 10th inning, before scoring the winning run on a throwing error by Marlins reliever Tanner Scott.
After retiring the number 17 to honour Keith Hernandez, the Mets secured their fourth walk-off win of the season and improved to 7-0 in extra innings, while moving their record to 53-32.
Max McGreevy holds a one-stroke lead at the Barbasol Championship, sitting on 17-under after a rain-interrrupted Saturday caused havoc during the third round.
Heavy rain in Kentucky has meant tournament organisers at Keen Trace have had to work around the conditions, and it only continued on Saturday, with staff even trying to empty the puddle-filled bunkers with buckets at one stage.
The final groups only started their rounds at 7:20pm local time, but were only able to get through three holes before darkness suspended play again.
Leading at the start of the day's play, Matti Schmid sits one stroke from McGreevy, and Adam Svensson moved level with him following a birdie on the par-three second hole.
Ricardo Gouveia remained a further stroke back on 15-under while Sean O'Hair took advantage of the softer conditions, moving to 14-under after three birdies in the opening four holes.
O'Hair is tied with Kevin Streelman and Trey Mulinax, with third-round play scheduled to resume on Sunday morning.
Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic crossed paths on the practice courts and began making plans to party after Sunday's Wimbledon final, on an unconventional day of build-up to the trophy match.
The pair were once grudge rivals, with Kyrgios ripping into Djokovic on the 'No Challenges Remaining' podcast in 2019, saying the Serbian had "a sick obsession" with wanting to be popular, in the way Roger Federer has enjoyed the love of tennis crowds.
More recently, though, Kyrgios sympathised with Djokovic's plight in January when the Serbian was detained and ultimately deported from Australia in a row over his vaccination status.
That served to stem the flow of bad blood, and Kyrgios has gone as far as to suggest there is a budding "bromance" between the pair.
Djokovic is not quite so sure about that, but the needle that once existed is unlikely to be a factor on Sunday, at least initially. Given the volatility both men may bring onto the court, the rapport could be seriously tested as the match goes on.
Even Djokovic has forecast "fireworks", but that does not necessarily mean ill-feeling.
On Centre Court, Djokovic will be aiming for his seventh Wimbledon title, which would see him tie Pete Sampras as the second most prolific winner of the men's singles in the Open Era, behind Federer's haul of eight.
On Saturday, Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo quoted a conversation between the pair at Wimbledon's Aorangi practice courts, where Djokovic is said to have told Kyrgios: "It took you five years to say something nice about me, haha."
According to Ozmo, who reports for Sport Klub, Kyrgios replied: "But I defended you when it mattered."
Djokovic then reportedly said: "You did, I appreciate that."
The conversation continued on social media, with Kyrgios writing on Instagram: "We friends now?"
Djokovic quipped in reply: "If you are inviting me for a drink or dinner, I accept. P.S. Winner of tomorrow pays."
Kyrgios was not satisfied with that level of celebration, proposing instead: "Let's go to a nightclub and go nuts."
Djokovic and Kyrgios have played twice before, and Kyrgios won both times without dropping a set. They came in 2017 though, at Acapulco and Indian Wells, when Djokovic was at a relatively low ebb.
Now the 35-year-old from Belgrade is targeting a title that would take him to a career haul of 21 grand slam titles, one behind men's all-time leader Rafael Nadal.
It will be a 32nd grand slam final for Djokovic, a men's record, and he is chasing a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, and a seventh in all. His lone defeat in a Wimbledon final came in 2013 when Andy Murray beat him in straight sets.
In contrast, Kyrgios will be contesting his first grand slam singles final. He won the doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open in January, but this is a massive step up, and he could be coming in slightly cold, after his semi-final against Nadal was cancelled due to the Spaniard's injury withdrawal.
The last Australian men's champion at Wimbledon was Lleyton Hewitt in 2002, but Ash Barty delivered in the women's singles last year, before retiring in March.
Kyrgios, at 40th in the ATP rankings, is the lowest-ranked Wimbledon men's singles finalist since 2003 when his fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis was a lowly 48th on the list.
He is the first unseeded man to reach a slam final since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the 2008 Australian Open.
Djokovic beat Tsonga that day to land his first grand slam title, and has enjoyed 14 years of plenty since.
That serves as a reminder of the company Kyrgios will be keeping, potentially out of his depth but maybe just enough of a threat if all aspects of his game come together.
Charles Leclerc does not want a repeat of the tussle he experienced with team-mate Carlos Sainz in the sprint race as he targets victory in the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Ferrari drivers saw Max Verstappen race away from them in the sprint, the championship leader benefiting from the duel between Leclerc and Sainz to take the maximum eight points.
Verstappen eventually claimed triumph by 1.6 seconds from Leclerc, who insisted the Scuderia drivers must not risk losing time and wearing down their tyres by fighting with each other again at the Red Bull Ring.
He said: "I think tomorrow is going to be a long race and tyre management will be quite a bit more important compared to today, so probably tomorrow we cannot afford to do what we did today.
"We lost a little bit of time, but again when Max had the gap he also managed his pace, so we'll never know… but I felt like we were strong towards the end – probably stronger than at the beginning. Whether it [would have been] enough I really don't know."
Verstappen now leads the drivers' championship by 38 points, with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who climbed from 13th to fifth in the sprint, his closest challenger. Leclerc is a further six points back.
The Dutchman has won five of the last seven races and has an outstanding record at his team's home circuit.
He has won three of the last four Austrian Grands Prix and also prevailed at the Red Bull Ring in last season's Styrian Grand Prix.
However, Verstappen labelled his tyres "tricky" and is not anticipating a routine success across the 71-lap feature race.
"We had good pace at the beginning and after that we were very closely matched, it was as a sprint should go, it was quite flat out," said Verstappen.
"I do expect tomorrow is going to be a very interesting battle again."
George Russell will start fourth in a Mercedes that appears to lack the straight-line speed to mount a serious challenge for victory in Spielberg.
His team-mate Lewis Hamilton will start eighth having claimed the final points place in the sprint.
The seven-time world champion has experienced an eventful weekend, crashing in qualifying on Friday and being involved in a first-lap collision with Pierre Gasly before fighting back from 11th to eventually get past Mick Schuamcher's Haas for eighth spot.
"I'm grateful I managed to survive out there today," Hamilton said. "The team did such a great job to get the car back together last night and this morning. A big thank you to them, and I'm glad I brought it back mostly in one piece.
"We are slower on the straights, so I had to wait until I was out of the DRS train to overtake the cars in front. That's why it took a few laps to get ahead of Mick. Hopefully we can race stronger tomorrow – fingers crossed!"
There are six world titles split between the two drivers starting 18th and 19th. Sebastian Vettel, who was handed a suspended €25,000 fine for walking out of Friday's drivers' briefing, finished 19th in the sprint following a collision with Alex Albon that sent Vettel's Aston Martin into the gravel.
Fernando Alonso's Alpine failed to start the sprint due to an electrical issue. Valtteri Bottas, a two-time winner of this race, is the only man behind Alonso on the grid after the Alfa Romeo driver incurred a penalty because of his latest engine change.
Xander Schauffele moved 18 holes away from successive tournament wins after snatching the lead with another excellent round at the Scottish Open.
Schauffele, who went into moving day four shots off the pace set by American compatriot Cameron Tringale, followed up his second-round 65 with a four-under 66 to move to seven under through 54 holes at The Renaissance Club.
It would have been even better for Schauffele, who prevailed last time out at the Travelers Championship, if not for successive bogeys at 17 and 18 to end the round.
But his two-over 72 on Thursday must now feel like a distant memory, with Schauffele going into the final 18 holes with a two-stroke lead over Rafa Cabrera Bello, who is in prime position to qualify for the Open Championship at St Andrews next week as the highest-placed player yet to clinch a spot in the final major of the year.
By contrast, Tringale endured a day to forget with a four-over 74 that dropped him back to three under.
It appeared as if he would strengthen his chances of victory when he eagled the par-five third. However, he did not make another gain the rest of the way, carding six bogeys.
Jordan Spieth perhaps looms as Schauffele's most ominous challenger. The 2015 Open champion began the day seven strokes back but closed to just three off the pace following a 66 that included eagles at the 10th and the par-four 15th hole.
Spieth sat in a group of three players on four under, with Ryan Palmer – also in the mix for a place at The Open – and Jordan Smith also firmly in contention. Smith had a hole-in-one on the 17th on Friday and went close to doing the same on Saturday, another fine tee shot leaving him with a tap-in for birdie.
Alex Smalley would be the third and final Open qualifier as it stands after a 67 took him to three under, putting him alongside Tringale and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.
Ons Jabeur said she was simply "not ready" to win a grand slam after losing in three sets to Elena Rybakina in the Wimbledon final.
The Tunisian world number two won the first set of Sunday's title match but then faded and slid to a 3-6 6-2 6-2 defeat.
Russian-born Rybakina, who switched nationality to Kazakh four years ago after being offered financial incentives to do so, was able to celebrate a surprise maiden slam title.
Jabeur was disappointed after the loss and told reporters in a news conference: "I couldn't do more, I really tried deep inside everything that I can.
"I did everything since the beginning of the year to really focus on this tournament, I even have the trophy picture on my phone.
"It wasn't meant to be. I cannot force things. I'm not ready for it probably, to be a grand slam champion."
The 27-year-old was optimistic of her chances of eventually making a breakthrough at the highest level, and perhaps a chance will come at the US Open in September.
She said: "I cannot wait to look forward to the next one.
"If I have another final I will learn more from it. I cannot wait to really improve a lot of things in my game.
"I want to [continue to] be a top-five player, I want to win more titles, I want to win a grand slam."
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