Nick Kyrgios will play Novak Djokovic in pre-Australian Open ‘extravaganza’

Nick Kyrgios will make his long-awaited return from injury when he plays Novak Djokovic in a one-off match on the eve of the Australian Open.

The Australian star and 21-time Grand Slam winner will meet at Rod Laver Arena at 6:30pm AEDT on Friday, Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said on Monday, announcing the “big arena show “.

Tickets will be available from Tuesday with all sales going to the Australian Tennis Foundation, Tennis Australia and the official charity of the Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic (right) will play Nick Kyrgios (left) in an exhibition match in Melbourne.

‘We are going to open the stands with ticket sales […] It will be a very low price, so we can fill the stadium with Rod Laver,” Tiley told reporters at Melbourne Park.

Fans can come out and head over to the Australian Tennis Foundation.

“Both Novak and Nick agreed to do it, so we think it’s going to be a really cool initiative.”

The exhibition will coincide with the release of the first episode of Break Point, Netflix’s new 10-part tennis documentary ‘Generation Next’, which focuses on Kyrgios.

Kyrgios will make his long-awaited return from injury when he faces Djokovic

The Australian is the focus of the first episode of the new Netflix documentary Break Point

The 2022 Wimbledon final rematch will also mark Djokovic’s first return to Melbourne since his controversial exclusion from the Australian Open 12 months ago.

Djokovic was at the center of a diplomatic firestorm in January last year, when he was deported for failing to comply with vaccination restrictions in place at the time.

The Serb, who was not vaccinated against covid-19, had his visa canceled twice after arriving in Australia ahead of the Australian Open.

But Tiley believes fans in Melbourne will be delighted to welcome back the 35-year-old, who has won the Australian Open a record nine times.

Djokovic thanked the Adelaide crowd on Sunday after winning the Adelaide International

“That’s what I love about Australia,” he said.

“I love that our fans, our sports fans, are among the most educated in the world. They appreciate greatness, they appreciate players who, like Novak, have won this event nine times.

‘I’m excited by the fact that we have all the players here. Novak is back, he could compete in front of the fans. And I’m pretty sure the Melbourne fans, similar to the experience he had in Adelaide, will be just as good.”

On Sunday, Djokovic thanked the Adelaide crowd for their support since his return to the country following his controversial deportation last year after winning the Adelaide International.

The Serb was detained by the Border Force upon arrival at Melbourne airport in January 2022.

His visa was canceled, reinstated, and finally canceled again before he was deported.

“The support I’ve been getting in the last 10 days is something I don’t think I’ve experienced many times in my life,” he said as he addressed the crowd after beating Sebastian Korda with an epic three-pointer. establish battle.

Kyrgios has long advocated Djokovic’s return to Australia, calling on fans and authorities to welcome his rival.

“I hope he is here, because of the sport, we have just seen one of the legends leave the sport: Roger [Federer] – and those are some shoes that no one is ever going to fill,” the Australian told the herald sun in October.

‘So I think while Novak and Rafa [Nadal] they are still around, we need these types of players to be in the Grand Slams.

“People of Australia, we love the Australian Open. […] we want to see the best players in the world there.’