Wimbledon: Nick Kyrgios raves about "Bromance", Novak Djokovic doesn't want to go that far
Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios will play the Wimbledon final in 2022, but how is the relationship between the two now? Better, but maybe not as good as Kyrgios thinks it is.
by Florian Goosmann from Wimbledon
last edit: Jul 09, 2022, 11:09 am
Nick Kyrgios hasn't had too much time for Novak Djokovic so far. The Australian was annoyed by Djokovic's obsession with being loved like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Djokovic's cheering gestures after winning matches were not to Kyrgios' taste for a long time. And the best player? Don't be Djokovic anyway, Andy Murray is much stronger, as he personally told the Scot after one or two glasses of red wine .
But that seems to have turned around now. He has a "bromance" going on with Djokovic, "that's a bit crazy," explained Kyrgios on Friday. Everyone knew that there hadn't been a good relationship for a long time.
Everything changed in Australia this year. As a reminder: Djokovic went to court after an entry drama, the question of the validity of a vaccination exception and ultimately the entry ban. "I think I was almost the only player who stood up for him," Kyrgios mused now. And that is one of those moments when you get respect: not on the tennis court, but when there is a crisis in real life and one stands up for the other.
"We now even write direct messages on Instagram," admitted Kyrgios, "really crazy." At the beginning of the week Djokovic wrote to him: "Hopefully we'll see each other on Sunday."
Novak Djokovic: "I give him credit"
Novak Djokovic didn't want to get completely into the praise chants. "I don't know if we can call it bromance yet," he said, "but we certainly have a better relationship than we did before January this year." Djokovic hasn't forgotten about Kyrgios in this regard. "When it was really difficult for me in Australia, he was one of the few players who publicly stood up for me. I give him credit for that."
"Bromance" or not: The duel between the two is of course eagerly awaited, especially since there have only been two games so far, both in spring 2017. Kyrgios won here in two sets, but this was at a time when Djokovic was a small went through crisis.
One of the bigger questions on Sunday will also be about the nerves: Djokovic is playing his eighth Wimbledon final, for Kyrgios it is the first major final ever.
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