Nick Kyrgios has never been a player who paid extra respect to the legends of the sport. He didn’t disrespect them, but he wasn’t really rattled when he played them or spoke of them. At times, that minor lack of respect shone through, such as when he called out Novak Djokovic during the COVID-19 pandemic before then going on to criticize the way the situation was handled by the authorities the next year.

Since then, however, the two have grown closer, partly due to the Wimbledon 2022 final they contested. Kyrgios and Djokovic have almost become friends at this point, and we’ll see that friendship in action in Brisbane where they will play doubles together.

Lots of tennis observers are curious about that doubles partnership in Brisbane, and Kyrgios was asked if he will use that proximity to Djokovic to “pick his brain” on a couple of tennis things.

The Aussie responded,

“I mean, you’re acting like I’m not a decent tennis player. Like, I’ve beaten the guy twice. Look, he’s an amazing player, the greatest ever to play the court. I wouldn’t say I’m going out there and, ‘Oh, my God, Novak, you’re the best. Please give me advice.’ I’m not like that. I’m just going to go out there, have some fun.”

Kyrgios even made an interesting observation that he’s likely going to help Djokovic because to him, it seems like Djokovic is “looking for a change”. He said,

“I think I actually help him more because he’s got to the point in his career he wants to obviously have a bit of fun. You don’t get to a position like that and you don’t get to have a career like that without serious discipline day in, day out. Now he’s starting to have a bit of fun. Obviously employing Andy Murray as his coach. He is looking for a change. He’s playing doubles with arguably the most controversial tennis players.”

It will be interesting how things pan out for the duo in Brisbane because this might be the first as well as the last time we see them play together.

When Kyrgios and Djokovic last met on court

The last time Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic stood on opposite sides of the net was at Wimbledon 2022 after a late withdrawal from Rafael Nadal sent the Australian to his maiden Grand Slam final.

A slow start gave Kyrgios the lead as he won the opening set. However, the Serbian found the edge and turned around the match to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3). It was Djokovic’s seventh Wimbledon crown and his 21st Grand Slam title, while Kyrgios was playing in his first Grand Slam final.