As Novak Djokovic approaches a record-tying Wimbledon win, Nick Kyrgios has sent a message to his critics.
The two have been friends for the past few years after having a tense relationship before Kyrgios lost to Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon final.
During his straight-set victory over Holger Rune on Monday night, Djokovic claimed some fans had mistreated him by yelling the young Dane’s last name.
However, Kyrgios has now implied that Djokovic will benefit from the anger directed at him, hinting that Wimbledon supporters could encourage the Serb to succeed if they continue to support his rivals.
Kyrgios talked about it and said: “Novak looks for more motivation in those things. He will single out that one person in the crowd to find that extra motivation, so my advice to anyone going up against Novak in the future in that crowd is: if you don’t want Novak to win, be as quiet as possible. He is a different type of athlete. I think we found a time ago that he wasn’t human and we are still trying to figure out what he is. It wasn’t boos (against Rune) but I think crowds all around the world need to understand that Novak doesn’t need more of a motive to play better.”
He further added: “He’s driven, one of the best players in the world and I’ve seen it time and time again. The crowd tries to poke the bear and that’s not what you want to do against Novak. He loves it. I try not to poke the bear when I play him and I struggle with that. It cost me my Wimbledon final. He doesn’t need more of a motive to go out there and prove to someone he is the greatest of all time.”
Kyrgios concluded his discussion and said: “He has the best team around him in his recovery. He is one of the most professional players to ever play the game; no one doubts that. He is reaping the rewards now. His career has lasted over 20 years and he is still one of the best in the world. If one of the young guys can dethrone him, I am waiting for it.”
Nick Kyrgios in 2024
Currently ranked no.470, Nick played his last match on the 13th of June 2023 when he was defeated by world no.482 Yibing Wu 7-5 6-3
in the 1st round in Stuttgart (draw).Presently, during this year Kyrgios has managed to achieve a compiled 0-1 match record.
Novak Djokovic in 2024
Ranked no.2, Novak played his last match on the 8th of July when he beat world no.15 Holger Rune 6-3 6-4 6-2 in the 4th round in Wimbledon (draw).
During this season Novak has managed to achieve a composed 22-6 match record. Novak Djokovic’s best result of the current season was getting to the semifinal at the Australian Open, Monte Carlo and Geneva.
Novak Djokovic will come up against the world no.25 Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinal on Friday at 4:30 pm on CENTRE COURT. Their actual record is 5-1 for Djokovic.
Djokovic won 99 titles in his career: 53 on hard courts, 19 on clay courts, 19 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic fought against each other 3 times. Their current record is 2-1 for Kyrgios. The last time they competed against each other, Novak Djokovic won 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(3) in the final in London (Wimbledon) in July 2022.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic |
| Embed from Getty Images |