Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic share one of tennis’ most renowned and unlikely bromances, having seemingly been forged in the flames of their 2022 Wimbledon final.
As the affable yet controversial Australian prepared to face the 36-year-old for a shot at his first-ever Grand Slam title, he snatched the first set and threatened to upset the world number one against all the odds.
However, in the end, normal service was resumed, and the Serbian machine would add yet another major to his ever-growing collection.
The two shared a joke or two in their post-match interviews, but it was clear that their relationship had been healed long before that. Djokovic recalls the exact moment which sparked that miraculous turnaround on Hana Kuma’s Good Trouble.
Novak Djokovic tells a story about Nick Kyrgios
Kyrgios, without knowing the 29-year-old, comes across as the kind of individual who could certainly rub certain people up the wrong way.
After all, he is unabashed and unapologetic, and for some that is a breath of fresh air.
However, that bluntness and willingness to upset the norm, especially in a sport as stage-managed as tennis, will not always come across well.
Djokovic, on the other hand, has instead been the picture of perfect tennis in recent years, simply showing up, winning, and leaving with minimal fuss.
The wide range of personalities is what makes any sport special, yet in this one, the trouble-makers are often lambasted.
However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has grown to love Kyrgios not due for his outlandish moments, but instead due to his actions during the 2022 Australian Open, where he was denied entry due to having not had his vaccination for COVID-19.
He recalled: ‘I think… I don’t know what I had done to cause that kind of behaviour, yours, towards me. It was interesting to follow that for a couple of years, and part of me was like ‘Don’t answer, don’t get involved,’ and then you were pushing all the buttons man.
‘I thought to myself, ‘I really wanna speak to him because I don’t know, what have I done? I’m probably boring to him.’ So then, two years ago, the thing happened what happened here in Australia, I don’t want to go back. I had a tough time. And you stood up for me. That was a big surprise.
‘You were one of the very few colleagues on the tour that stood up, that used his platform, used his voice, to support me. That’s a thing that I’ll never forget, and since that moment our relationship has gotten better.’
Nick Kyrgios should be back playing soon
Having returned to hitting just last month, and showcased more and more footage ever since across his social media, it does feel like we are edging closer to a Kyrgios return to tennis.
It was such a shame that he was struck down when he was, arguably in the form of his life and having just reached his first Grand Slam final. Since then, his injuries have been unrelenting and desperately unfortunate.
The power vacuum that has currently opened up, with Djokovic’s underperformance and injuries to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, almost feels tailor-made for someone like Kyrgios to stake his claim.
However, that is not to be, and the latest we heard was that he planned to be at Wimbledon in some capacity, at the very least doing what we assume to be some kind of punditry work.
He will likely step up his recovery to try and return to the tournament where he came so close to achieving the ultimate prize in tennis.