Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokvoic will meet in the Wimbledon final in the final chapter of what has been a fascinating and rocky relationship.
Once fierce enemies fired at each other, the duo will now head to the Sunday Night Decision (AEST) as friends. Well, a little.
“We definitely have a bit of bromance now, which is weird,” Kyrgios said in his pre-final press conference on Friday.
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“I think everyone knows there was no lost love for a while. I think it was healthy for the sport. I think every time we touched, there were chocolates around.”
“I felt like I was almost the only kind of player to defend him with all that kind of drama at the Australian Open,” he said. “I feel this is where respect is earned.”
Djokovic, speaking after his semi-final victory over Cameron Norrie, agreed that the relationship between the players had improved.
“I don’t know if I can still say bromance, but we definitely have a better relationship than we probably had before January of this year,” he said.
“But when it was very difficult for me in Australia, he was one of the few players who came out publicly and supported me and stood by me. That’s something I’m really grateful for. So I have a lot of respect for that. “.
So let’s take a look back at what has been a wild journey.
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Three years ago, Nick Kyrgios said he would imitate the celebration of Novak Djokovic if he won the Serb for the third time in a row.
“Celebrations kill me. Every time, they kill me, ”Kyrgios told renowned tennis correspondent Ben Rothenberg There are no challenges left podcast in 2019.
“Honestly, this is what I will do next time, if I play it and win it, I will celebrate it in front of you. That would be fun. “
Moments earlier, a sincere Kyrgios said Djokovic had a “sickly obsession with wanting to please.”
“He wants to be like Roger (Federer),” Kyrgios said.
“Personally, I don’t care, I just got here, he just wants me to like him so much that I can’t stand him. Like all this celebration he does after winning a game, it’s like something so tear-jerking. It’s very creepy.
He is an incredible player (tennis), he is a champion of this sport, one of the best we will ever see. I honestly think he’ll get the Grand Slam count, I think he’ll beat Federer. “
We’ll now see if Kyrgios still holds that view from his former arch-rival, following a thaw in tensions in recent months ahead of Sunday’s Wimbledon final.
For Kyrgios it will be his first slam final.
Djokovic? Well, he has 20 and is chasing Rafa Nadel, who extended his lead to 22 after taking home the first two slams of the year.
Sunday’s final will be their third game between them, but mostly it will be the first time they face off in a five-set match.
In his two clashes in 2017 (the only year since 2011 that Djokovic has failed to win a slam) on hard courts, Kyrgios won both games in two sets.
Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic from 2017. Source: AFP
That’s why Kyrgios doesn’t believe Djokovic can ever be crowned as a tennis GOAT.
“No matter how many Grand Slam titles I win, it will never be the best simply because I’ve played it twice and, I’m sorry, if you can’t beat me, you’re not the greatest of all time.” Kyrgios told There are no challenges left podcast.
“If you look at my day to day and how much I train and how much I put in, it’s zero compared to him.
“For me, Federer will always be the best of all time. Hands down. What he has done on all surfaces. What Rafa (Nadal) has done is very scary, as if I know how many Roland Garros he has won, maybe 11 or whatever? But he also adapted his game to the turf, which is crazy.
“But Djokovic, I don’t know, again. I’m just angry in the wrong way. He always says what he feels he has to say, he never says his opinion.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kyrgios was one of the most open athletes in the sport, aiming at others, including Djokovic, to stand out from the rest and endanger his life by continuing to play. .
The Australian called Djokovic’s decision to go ahead with his exhibition tournament a “no-brainer”.
He then beat up others from the tennis fraternity for partying, saying “this brings the cake” for “stupidity.”
Kyrgios said Djokovic was a “tool” ahead of the 2021 Australian Open, as the world’s No. 1 called on organizers to ease quarantine restrictions for players.
But, as he has become too familiar with Kyrgios, nothing is predictable in the Australian’s dizzying rise to fame since his appearance in the quarter-finals at his 2014 Wimbledon debut.
Tensions have thawed between the duo this year, and Kyrgios is once again going against the sauce by publicly defending Djokovic when the Serb faced deportation ahead of this year’s Australian Open.
Tomljanovic on Kyrgios’ accusations | 01:04
Kyrgios described Djokovic’s situation as a “shit show” and criticized then-immigration minister Alex Hawke for his handling of the situation.
“Hawke said it’s a threat to our borders. Oh, no, it’s not. Right now it’s like a weapon of mass destruction,” Kyrgios said.
“He is here to play tennis, he is not doing anything to anyone.
“The mistreatment of people in Melbourne has been atrocious for the last two years. I understand the anger towards him for not being vaccinated and getting a medical exemption, but if you look him in the face, he has his documentation.
“Novak and I have a bromance now, he’s back in custody and it sucks. Now we’re guys. I can’t wait until the end of the Australian summer and we can play ball. The party after Melbourne will be fucking crazy. I will rent a house and go crazy. “
Kyrgios revealed that Djokovic had contacted him to thank him for “defending” him during the Australian Open.
“I wasn’t the one hoping to go out to the media and turn my back on him. As a human being, he obviously feels pretty alienated in all of this. As a human being, this is a dangerous place to be: when you feel like the world is in against you, as if you couldn’t do anything right, “Kyrgios told the Without Borders podcast.
Shortly afterwards, Djokovic said Kyrgios “pleasantly surprised me” by defending him during the Australian Open saga.
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The 20-time slam champion came out in defense of Kyrgios earlier at Wimbledon, after the Australian was criticized for his behavior at the All England Club.
He arrived after a tumultuous opening week where he spat in the direction of a spectator and engaged in an ugly war of words with the fourth Greek series boss Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Djokovic, however, said Kyrgios was good for the sport and added that the slandered Australian was if nothing else “authentic”.
“With Kyrgios, you often see these situations on the track,” Djokovic said Sports Club.
“It’s always fun, but on the other hand, maybe not so much for his rival. The fact is that it is him and whether someone likes him or not, he is very attracted to tennis. I see it’s good that he attracts a group of young people who follow him, love him and like him because he’s different and he plays like that – and I don’t think it’s bad for our sport.
“Maybe in some situations his comments on and off the track are debatable, but that’s authentic Kyrgios, and I respect that. Even though for years he was saying bad things about me, he was by my side again in Australia – and when it got harder for me, he was one of the few who spoke out publicly in my favor and supported me — and I’m grateful to him for that. “