The ‘bromance’ nobody saw coming. How Wimbledon finalists Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic went from worst of enemies to best of friends ahead of All England finale that promises to deliver fireworks
- The Wimbledon finalists have traded verbal barbs over the last four years
- That includes the world No.1 saying he has no respect for the Aussie firebrand
- However there was a crucial moment this year when that all changed
- Now Kyrgios said there is a ‘bromance’ between the two unlikely friends
There have been some health spats between Aussie tennis firebrand Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic over the years.
Kyrgios has called the world No.1 a tool, slammed him for having a sick obsession with being liked and has previously declared that he would ‘never be the greatest for me’.
Djokovic shakes hands with Kyrgios after losing in Acapulco in 2017. He has never beaten Kyrgios and lost twice to the Australian in two weeks in 2017.
But all those bitter barbs have been stashed into the kit bag and Kyrgios insists there is no bad blood between the duo as they prepare to clash in the Wimbledon men’s final at the All England Club on Sunday [AEST].
While Kyrgios hit out at Djokovic for his ill-fated tennis tournaments in Serbia and Croatia at the peak of the Covid pandemic, the Australian became an unlikely ally for the 20-time grand slam winner earlier this year.
When Djokovic was put in a shoebox hotel room to quarantine for the Australian Open before ultimately being forced to leave the country, Kyrgios stuck up for the world No.1.
‘Look I definitely believe in taking action, I got vaccinated because of others and for my mums health, but how we are handling Novak’s situation is bad, really bad,’ Kyrgios wrote.
‘Like these memes, headlines, this is one of our great champions but at the end of the day, he is human. Do better.’
Djokovic celebrates after beating Britain’s Cameron Norrie to reach the Wimbledon decider
Now, ahead of the biggest match of his career, Kyrgios says the two have bonded over that moment and cultivated a ‘bromance’.
‘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.’
‘I felt like I was almost the only kind of player 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.’
when Kyrgios slammed Djokovic for his Covid-defying tennis tournaments, the champion fired back that he ‘had no respect’ for the Australia.
That has changed and that moment in Australia was when Djokovic said he learned to respect Kyrgios.
‘When it was really tough for me in Australia, he was one of the very few players that came out publicly and supported me and stood by me,’ Djokovic said.
‘That’s something I truly appreciate. So I respect him for that a lot.’
Kyrgios was an unlikely ally for Djokovic during the Australian Open and they now have a newfound respect for each other
He stopped short of agreeing it was a ‘bromance’ but said Kyrgios’ support was appreciated.
‘I don’t know if I can call it a bromance yet, but we definitely have a better relationship than what it was probably prior to January this year,’ he said.
‘But when it was really tough for me in Australia, — he was one of the very few players that came out publicly and supported me and stood by me. That’s something I truly appreciate. So I respect him for that a lot.’
Djokovic is looking to win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London
Don’t expect warm hugs and kind words on the court in the final, though. Djokovic knows he needs to lock down if he wants to join Rafael Nadal on 21 grand slam victories.
‘The job is not finished,’ said the 35-year-old.
‘One thing is for sure – there are going to be a lot of fireworks emotionally from both.’
‘We haven’t played for some time. I’ve never won a set off him.
‘Hopefully it can be different this time. It’s another final for me at Wimbledon, so hopefully the experience can work in my favour.’
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