Revealed: Why Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic can’t stop saying ‘Idemo’ – as the Grand Slam legend reveals why Aussie was the boss in their doubles match

Nick Kyrgios has made a triumphant return to tennis with a thrilling first-round doubles victory with Novak Djokovic at the Brisbane International – and now the duo can’t stop saying ‘Idemo’.

The one-time Wimbledon final foes and the first pair lit up Pat Rafter Arena on Monday evening with a dazzling 6-4 6-7 10-8 win over Austrian Alexander Erler and German Andreas Mies.

Kyrgios was playing his first tour match since June 2023, making only his second league appearance in almost two-and-a-half years after career-saving wrist and knee operations.

But in a 107-minute cameo, the former world number 13 showed he had lost neither his tremendous serving firepower nor his outsized talent for shot-making as he and Djokovic provided a proverbial tennis clinic for fans.

For decades, the Serbian’s large fanbase has sung ‘Idemo Nole’ to motivate and inspire him on the pitch.

‘Idemo’ simply means ‘Let’s go’ in Serbian, and ‘Nole’ is a popular nickname for Djokovic.

After the match, Djokovic used the Serbian word in an Instagram message to the Australian.

‘Good effort. Nice start. Idemooo,” he posted.

Kyrgios replied: ‘IDEMO NOLE’.

With Kyrgios dropping just four points in his six service games, the superstar wildcards proved virtually impossible to break and captured the opening set in spectacular fashion.

Djokovic took the backhand and showed why with an excellent shot between the net post and the referee’s chair.

He followed with an unplayable backhand return before bringing home the set point with a sumptuous topspin lob.

Not to be outdone, Kyrgios, the showman, smashed a curling forehand past Mies to end the set in the most stylish manner.

Kyrgios had promised to add some fun to Djokovic’s usually methodical play and, true to his word, had the super Serb dancing with delight after pulling off a trademark ‘tweener’ winner late in the second set.

However, for all their dominance, the single pair could not grab a break in the second set and then had to survive a tiebreak in the third to secure victory.

“That was great,” Djokovic said.

‘Full house, great. Great to be back.

‘I want to thank Nick for playing. He recently said it would be a pleasure to play with him. It’s a pleasure and I’m happy to share the court with him during his comeback.

“To be honest, I haven’t played that many doubles matches in my life, especially in the last five years, so whatever Nick said, I kind of followed it.

“So Nick, it’s great to have you back on the field in a competitive environment.”

Kyrgios brushed off the praise, insisting he had not captained Djokovic at all.

“I was actually surprised that he had a little bit of self-doubt at some points,” he said.

“I was like, ‘Brother, you’re the greatest of all time; like, ‘go for it’.”

The enigmatic Kyrgios said he loved every minute on court with the so-called tennis GOAT.

“I was just looking around at all the fans, like this beautiful stadium,” he said.

“My comeback, you know, this injury has been tough for me, so I didn’t take any of this for granted.

“I don’t know how many Australian summers I have left, so I just looked around and enjoyed the energy and was so happy to be here again.

“We promised we would do this again before he or I go, so I’m glad we’re alive.”

Kyrgios’ impressive performance bodes well for his Grand Slam comeback next month at the Australian Open.

The 29-year-old will continue to prepare in Brisbane for Melbourne Park in singles and doubles.

He takes on big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his long-awaited return to singles on Tuesday, before Kyrgios and Djokovic do it all again on Wednesday against doubles players Michael Venus and Nikola Mektic.