As a display of their strong partnership, Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic gave each other a chest bump after their victory.
In their first-ever doubles match, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios defeated Austria’s Alexander Erler and Germany’s Andreas Mies 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 10-8. The match was a memorable one for both players, as Kyrgios made his competitive tennis comeback after an 18-month break due to a wrist injury. The pair, playing in front of a boisterous sell-out crowd at Pat Rafter Arena, combined their special talents and playful chemistry on the court.
With his characteristic power, Kyrgios, who is renowned for his flamboyant and unpredictable style, ripped through the match with little evidence of rust. He impressed the crowd with a beautiful tweener lob and then displayed his skill with a crisp volley. Highlights also came from Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who secured set chances in the first set with a beautiful lob and a superb backhand that threaded through a tiny gap.
“We had a great time out. “It was fantastic,” Djokovic said following the victory. “Playing with Nick makes me very pleased. It really was a delight, as he had promised. Given everything he’s been through with the injury, I’m happy to see him back on the playing field.
Just as excited was Kyrgios, who hadn’t performed since June 2023. “I was shocked to learn that Novak occasionally had self-doubt. ‘You’re the greatest of all time, just go for it,’ I kept telling him,” he grinned.
A far cry from the tense moments that once defined their rivalry, the two’s chemistry was apparent throughout, as they regularly laughed and joked. After Kyrgios supported Djokovic’s deportation from Australia in 2022, their relationship thawed and has since strengthened, leading to this doubles debut.
This triumph was particularly noteworthy for Kyrgios because it followed a difficult recuperation from his wrist injury. He acknowledged that he wasn’t sure how many more Australian summers he had left in him and thanked Djokovic for the chance to work with him.
“The injury has been brutal for me, and I wasn’t taking any of this for granted,” Kyrgios stated. Before either he or I move on from this, we agreed to play together once. I’m quite happy that we were able to make it happen.
The victory gave the pair a strong start to the 2024 tennis season. Later this week, they will play doubles again against top seeds Michael Venus and Nikola Mektic.
