As Novak Djokovic was putting the finishing touches to his seventh Wimbledon title, with a performance of stubbornness and style over Nick Kyrgios, he began to experience an unfamiliar sensation: a spontaneous outbreak of affection.
The 35-year-old has never been a darling of Centre Court. Not in an era of Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. But with Kyrgios on the ropes at match point, the chants that had started with his box - “Nole! Nole!” – grew and multiplied like a virus. He smiled. Nodded. Then ended it with an executioner’s resolve.
