Nick Kyrgios has been one of the biggest critics of Novak Djokovic. Be it the Serb’s Ardia tour or the Covid-19 vaccination drama ahead of this year’s Australian Open, Kyrgios has had a lot to say about the 20-time Grand Slam champion. However, before Kyrgios had booked himself a spot in Sunday’s Wimbledon 2022 Men’s Singles final, he had received a 5-worded message on Instagram from Djokovic.
Kyrgios progressed to the final after Rafael Nadal decided to pull out of the semi-final due to an injury. It was the first time ever that the Australian reached the final of a Grand Slam in his career. Ahead of the title-decider, Kyrgios opened up on the ‘weird bromance’ between him and Djokovic that has been brewing ever since the Aussie sympathised with the Serb over the manner in which he was prevented from participating the Australian Open this year.
“We actually message each other on DMs in Instagram now and stuff. It’s real weird,” the Aussie said as he spoke about his “bromance” with Djokovic in a pre-final media conference.
“Actually, like, earlier in the week, he was like, ‘Hopefully I’ll see you Sunday.'”
Kyrgios didn’t shy away from hitting out at Djokovic for organsing the Ardia Tour in 2020 but also lent him support when the Australian Open drama saw him being deported from the country following visa cancellation. In his own unique manner, Kyrgios explained how the relationship is between him and Djokovic these days.
“We definitely have a bit of a bromance now, which is weird. I think everyone knows there was no love lost for a while there. I think it was healthy for the sport. I think every time we played each other, there was hype around it. It was interesting for the media, the people watching, all that,” Kyrgios explained.
“I felt like I was almost the only kind of player and someone to stand up for him with all that kind of drama at Australian Open. I feel like that’s where respect is kind of earned. Not on the tennis court, but I feel like when a real life crisis is happening and someone stands up for you…”, he continued.
Djokovic now sees Kyrgios standing in his way of winning the 21st Grand Slam and 4th consecutive Wimbledon title.
