Novak Djokovic is accused of playing mind games with Australian Open title rival Nick Kyrgios
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Novak Djokovic is accused of playing mind games with Australian Open title rival Nick Kyrgios by snubbing the tennis bad boy in a television interview.
- Novak Djokovic is accused of playing mind games with his rival Nick Kyrgios
- Djokovic did not mention Kyrgios when asked about the heavyweights in the tournament
- Woodbridge believes the Serb is trying to get into the Australian bad boy’s head
- The pair will meet on Friday in a one-off match before the Australian Open.
Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge has accused Novak Djokovic of playing mind games with Nick Kyrgios after the Serbian superstar turned down the Australian’s chances at the Australian Open.
The 27-year-old Kyrgios has been in excellent form over the last 12 months and has raised expectations that he will become the first men’s tennis player since Lleyton Hewitt to bring a Grand Slam back to Australia.
Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge has accused Novak Djokovic (pictured with Kyrgios after the 2022 Wimbledon final) of playing mind games with Nick Kyrgios after the Serbian superstar turned down the Australian’s chances at the Australian Open.
When Woodbridge asked Djokovic who the biggest threats at the tournament were, the 21-time Grand Slam champion didn’t mention the French Australian.
However, when Woodbridge asked Djokovic who the biggest threats at the tournament were, the 21-time Grand Slam champion did not mention the Australian franc.
Woodbridge explained that he thinks Djokovic forgot to mention it on purpose and is trying to get into Kyrgios’ head before the pair meet again.
“I asked him who he thinks the contenders are, and he went through (Rafael) Nadal and (Jannik) Sinner and (Casper) Ruud and I said ‘not Kyrgios?'” Woodbridge said on Nine’s Today Show.
Woodbridge explained that he thinks Djokovic forgot to mention the Australian on purpose and is trying to get into Kyrgios’ head before the two meet.
“He just smiled and said ‘of course there’s Nick Kyrgios and we know what he can do. He then went ahead and said, ‘I hope he’s ready, he hasn’t had much preparation.’
“And he laid out a few things for Nick to think…that it’s a bit of locker room talk and slang that they get into their heads and they both like to do that, it’s good drama for all of us.” ‘
The Australian star and the Serbian maestro will square off at Rod Laver Arena at 6:30pm AEDT on Friday in a one-off match on the eve of the Australian Open.
The Australian star and the Serbian maestro will square off at Rod Laver Arena at 6:30pm AEDT on Friday in a one-off match on the eve of the Australian Open.
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.
Kyrgios has long advocated Djokovic’s return to Australia, calling on fans and authorities to welcome his rival.
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.’