Melbourne fans will have the opportunity to watch a duel of cracks before the Australian Open Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios will play an exhibition match at Rod Laver Arena on Friday the 13th. Tickets went online Tuesday morning at $20 and sold out in 58 minutes.
So Djokovic and Kyrgios will compete in front of a packed crowd, offering a good show. Novak and Nick were far from friends in the past, as the Australian used any opportunity to attack the Serb. Their relationship improved last year, when Nick defended Novak during their 10-day saga in Australia.
Kyrgios defeated Djokovic in their first matches on Tour, and they met again in the Wimbledon final last year. Nick played well to reach his first Major semifinal, receiving a walkover from Rafael Nadal and setting up the title clash against Djokovic.
The Serbian needed three hours and a minute to prevail 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6 and lift his seventh Wimbledon crown. Novak saved five of six break points and broke Nick for the first time of his career in the second set to kick off his comeback.
Nick got off to a perfect start in his first Major final, taking the first set 6-4 in 31 minutes. He broke Novak at 2-2 after a double fault from the Serb and held after the deuce in the tenth game with an ace down the T line for 6-4.
Novak pressed on the return at 2-1 in the second set and created three break points with a crossover backhand winner. He clinched the first after a lucky winner that grazed the net gave him a massive 3-1 lead. Djokovic served for the set at 5-3 to find himself down 40-0.
Novak kept his cool, denying four break points and hitting a service winner on set point to level the score at 1-1 after 70 minutes.
Kyrgios praises Djokovic
Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios, who have been at loggerheads in the past, seem to have well and truly buried the hatchet in recent months.
“Yeah. It’s (Australian deportation) probably the worst thing tennis could have done to him. Because now, he is just hungry. Every event he’s playing, he does – he knows that he might not be able to play next week – so he’s gonna do everything he can to win that tournament.
He’s almost harder to beat now,” Nick Kyrgios said. “Yeah, we chat a lot now. At the end of the day, if you defend someone, you know, in real life situations where you know, you expect people to stand up for you.
No one else did but me. And now, he was really thinking there’s no chance that Kyrgios (will),” the 27-year-old recalled. “No one’s supposed to be treated like that – whether you are a tennis player or not, (or) from another country,” he added.
