Tennis – Australian Open – Exhibition Match – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 13, 2023 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios during the exhibition match REUTERS
Dec 17 (Reuters) – Record 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will team up with former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios to play doubles at the Brisbane International, the Australian said.
The pair, who have developed a friendship after once being at loggerheads when Kyrgios labelled Djokovic “boneheaded” and a “tool”, will use the Dec. 29-Jan. 5 ATP 250 event as a warm-up for next month’s Australian Open.
Djokovic and Kyrgios have faced each other three times on the ATP Tour, with the Australian winning the first two encounters in 2017 before losing in four sets in the 2022 Wimbledon final.
In a post on Instagram on Monday, Kyrgios shared a picture of their meeting at Wimbledon, writing: “Doubles at Brisbane. See y’all there”.
Organisers of the Brisbane International did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Kyrgios, who is also scheduled to play in the Dec. 19-22 World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, has played just one singles tour match in the last two years due to knee, foot and wrist injuries.
He is set to make his competitive singles return in Brisbane and will play at the Australian Open with a protected ranking of 21st, where he will also be reunited with Thanasi Kokkinakis in the men’s doubles.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, dubbed the “Special Ks” as juniors, claimed their only major title in 2022 at Melbourne Park.
The 2025 Australian Open will run from Jan. 12-26.
Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford
