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Novak Djokovic has denied Nick Kyrgios a maiden grand slam title with an enthralling, drama-charged four-set Wimbledon final triumph over the unseeded Australian.

Djokovic defied heatwave conditions, a fierce early barrage and 30 Kyrgios aces to coolly clinch a seventh Wimbledon crown and grand slam No.21 with a steely 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory on Sunday.

"I'm lost words for what this tournament, what this trophy means to me, to my team and my family," Djokovic said after holding up the Challenge Cup once again.

"I've said this many times - it always has been and will be my most special tournament in my heart, the one that motivated me and inspired me to start playing tennis in a small, little mountain resort in Serbia.

"My parents used to run the restaurant and I was four-and-a-half, five years old and I saw Pete Sampras win his first Wimbledon in 1993 and I asked my mum and dad to buy me a racquet and my first image of tennis was grass and Wimbledon.

"I always dreamed of coming here, just playing in this court and then of course realising this childhood dream and winning this trophy.

"Every single time it gets more and more meaningful so I am very blessed and grateful."

After a rollercoaster, controversy-laden run to the final, Kyrgios had been bidding to become Australia's first men's grand slam singles winner since Lleyton Hewitt reigned at the All England Club in 2002.

He looked on track after taking the opening set with a scintillating display of tennis underpinned by some typically huge serving but also showcasing his trademark tweener and cheeky under-arm serve.

After fining Kyrgios $US14,000 ($A20,500) for spitting on their hallowed grass courts and calling an umpire a disgrace during a tempestuous first week of the championships, All England Club poobahs must have been squirming at the prospect of having to welcome tennis's most volatile star in as a new member.

Djokovic, though, drew on all his vast experience and champion qualities to wear down Canberra's erratic showman physically and mentally in temperatures nudging towards 40 degrees on the sport's most famous centre court.

"Hats off to him. That was a hell of a match. I thought I served well. I put myself in a position to win, but I just wasn't able to play those clutch points well at all today," Kyrgios said.

Kyrgios had been on his best behaviour early on in front of a royal box featuring the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Australian greats Rod Laver and John Newcombe, and a raft of other royals and luminaries.

But, after dropping serve for the first time in his career against Djokovic to fall behind 3-1 in the second set, he grew frustrated.

The hot-head was even more agitated after being unable to break back in the ninth game despite holding four break points and having Djokovic 0-40 down as the Serb levelled the match at one set apiece.

Kyrgios threatened to unravel after being given a code violation for swearing in the fifth game of the pivotal third set after claiming to have been distracted while serving by a mouthy spectator in the crowd.

He angrily condemned chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein's decision as "a joke" and demanded the woman be removed.

"She's drunk out of her mind ... so kick her out," Kyrgios pleaded with the French official.

"The one that looks like she's had about 700 drinks, bro," he added when asked which spectator it was.

Even young Prince George, sitting between William and Kate, was bemused by Kyrgios's behaviour.

There was no let-up, though, as Kyrgios let rip at his box after despairingly being broken at 4-4 from 40-0 up to gift Djokovic the opportunity to serve out the third set.

The top seed duly did so, collected his gear and departed for a toilet break as Kyrgios was left to wonder how the final had so quickly turned.

There were no service breaks in a tense, hour-long fourth set as Djokovic sealed victory in a tiebreaker after three hours, one minute to capture his seventh Wimbledon crown, equalling American great Sampras and Britain's 1880s champion William Renshaw.

Roger Federer, with eight titles at London's SW19, is the only man to have won more.

It's Djokovic's first grand slam triumph since defeating Matteo Berrettini from a set down in last year's Wimbledon final.

The 35-year-old was deported from Australia on the eve of the Melbourne Park major in January for not having the necessary visa and lost to Rafael Nadal in last month's French Open quarter-finals.

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More Australian adults will be eligible for COVID-19 treatments and a fourth vaccine dose as health authorities seek to curb climbing infection and hospitalisation rates.

From Monday, an additional 7.4 million people will be able to receive a fourth vaccine dose.

People over 50 are recommended to get the extra shot while those over 30 are eligible if they wish.

Health Minister Mark Butler announced Australians over 70 who test positive to the virus will be able to access antivirals on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from Monday.

Access will also be expanded to people over 50 with two or more risk factors for severe disease and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people over 30 with two or more risk factors.

Anyone 18 or over and immunocompromised may also be eligible.

Two antivirals are on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme: Lagevrio and Paxlovid. Normally costing more than $1000, they will be available from Monday for $6.80 for concession card holders and about $40 for everyone else.

A new advertising campaign will also be launched to educate Australians about the availability of treatments.

The Plan For COVID campaign encourages people to test at the first sign of symptoms, talk to their doctor without delay for advice and seek treatment options.

Mr Butler said hospitals are bracing for increasing cases as winter progresses and encouraged younger Australians in particular to get their third booster.

About 2.5 million people in their 30s and 40s are yet to have their third booster, he said.

"I really encourage you to get out and get that (third) dose because that's the big kicker. That's the thing that really lifts your immunity against severe disease," Mr Butler told reporters in Adelaide on Sunday.

"The fourth dose will give you a boost and that boost is important right now because of the phase of the pandemic we're going through, this additional third wave."

Case numbers are projected to climb as high as they did in January thanks to new variants reinfecting people at larger rates.

"It's increasingly clear that (variants) are able to evade the immunity that you might have got from having previously had COVID," Mr Butler said.

"We're seeing people who might only have had COVID several weeks ago being reinfected."

More than 31,000 new infections and 24 deaths were reported across Australia on Sunday, a slight dip on the previous 48 hours.

There were 4094 Australians in hospital by the end of the weekend, with increasing influenza rates adding to the pressure on healthcare staff.

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The NSW government has scrapped its plan to install an extra flagpole on the Sydney Harbour Bridge to fly the Aboriginal flag.

Instead the Aboriginal flag will permanently replace the NSW flag on the iconic structure.

Premier Dominic Perrottet on Sunday confirmed the change to the Sydney Morning Herald, labelling it a "practical and pragmatic solution which makes sense".

The $25 million cost of the additional flagpole installation was revealed by Mr Perrottet last month. The funding will instead be reallocated to Close The Gap initiatives.

The Aboriginal flag had been flying over the Sydney Harbour Bridge this past week for NAIDOC Week.

Following Mr Perrottet's commitment, the Victorian government also recently made the decision to permanently fly the Aboriginal flag on Melbourne's West Gate Bridge.

The NSW flag will be relocated to the redeveloped precinct on Macquarie Street in the CBD.

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Eligibility for potentially lifesaving COVID-19 antiviral treatments is to be widened.

Health Minister Mark Butler says Australians over 70 who test positive to the virus will be able to access antivirals on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from Monday.

Access will also be expanded to people over 50 with two or more risk factors for severe disease and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people over 30 with two or more risk factors.

Anyone 18 or over and immunocompromised may also be eligible.

But the health minister is resisting calls to reinstate pandemic leave payments which ended on July 1, saying the pandemic has moved to a different phase.

"We're beyond ... lockdowns and mandates and emergency payments," he told ABC Insiders on Sunday.

"We are at the point where there needs to be maximum information to the community so they can make informed decisions themselves."

He said the government would listen to health authorities and remain open to changing their approach through winter.

Opposition spokesman Simon Birmingham said the government must be transparent about the advice from health experts.

"We shouldn't be spending money that doesn't need to be spent," he told Sky News on Sunday.

"But if there are measures necessary in relation to public health and public hospitals, the government needs to be transparent about the advice it's receiving and how it is acting in response to that advice."

Australia's COVID-19 death toll has surpassed 10,300 and health authorities are urging people to consider a fourth vaccine dose as cases are expected to climb.

More than 70,000 new infections and 89 deaths have been reported across the country over the weekend with Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 now the dominant strains of the virus.

The number of Australians hospitalised with the virus tops 4000, up by more than 1000 in the past fortnight.

"COVID cases and hospitalisation numbers are climbing, particularly with the new variants," Mr Butler said on Sunday.

"These oral antivirals dramatically reduce the risk of severe disease particularly for older Australians and will help keep people out of hospital."

More than 73,000 Australians have already benefited from the medicines.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommended the changes in response to the latest evidence on the effectiveness and safety of the medicines, current usage and the changing epidemiology of COVID-19.

Antiviral treatments, taken as a tablet or capsule, help stop infection from becoming severe but need to be started early after testing positive.

Mr Butler says the former government bought hundreds of thousands of antiviral doses "that have been sitting on a shelf instead of being used to help people who are at risk".

Two antivirals are on the PBS: Lagevrio and Paxlovid. Normally costing more than $1000, they will be available from Monday for $6.80 for concession card holders and around $40 for everyone else.

Also from Monday, Australians over 30 will be able to get a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose or second booster.

LATEST 24-HOUR COVID-19 DATA:

NSW: 8760 cases, eight deaths, 1945 in hospital with 60 in ICU

Victoria: 7934 cases, two deaths, 671 in hospital with 32 in ICU

Tasmania: 1355 cases, 93 in hospital with four in ICU

WA: 5014 cases, 261 in hospital with seven in ICU

SA: 3039 cases, two deaths, 240 in hospital, nine in ICU

ACT: 945 cases, 134 in hospital with five in ICU

Queensland: 4174 cases, deaths N/A, 744 in hospital, 15 in ICU

Northern Territory: 275 cases, six in hospital, none in ICU.

© AAP 2022