Men’s world number one Novak Djokovic says he does not have much respect for Nick Kyrgios off the court in the wake of the public criticism he has received from the Australian.
Key points:
- Djokovic says Kyrgios is “good for the sport” but he only respects what he can do on the court
- Kyrgios referred to Djokovic as a “tool” on Twitter last month
- The Australian criticised Djokovic last year for organising the Adria Tour exhibition event during the coronavirus pandemic
Kyrgios has never stopped short of offering his thoughts on Djokovic.
Only last month he labelled Djokovic a “tool” on Twitter after the Serbian wrote a letter to Australian Open organisers asking them to ease quarantine restrictions for players.
Djokovic later defended his actions, saying his “good intentions” were misconstrued.
The reigning Australian Open men’s champion spoke to the media at Melbourne Park on Sunday afternoon and was asked about Kyrgios’s tweet last month.
He said he admired Kyrgios for his tennis ability but that was where his respect for the 25-year-old ended.
“I’ve said this before. I think he’s good for the sport,” Djokovic said.
“Obviously, he’s someone that is different. He goes about his tennis, he goes about his off-court things in his own authentic way. I have respect for him.
“I have respect for everyone else really because everyone has a right and freedom to choose how they want to express themselves, what they want to do.
“My respect goes to him for the tennis he’s playing. I think he’s very talented guy. He’s got a big game. He has proven that he has a quality to beat any player really in the world in the past.
“That’s where I’ll close it. I really don’t have any further comments for him, his own comments for me or anything else he’s trying to do.”
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Kyrgios’s tweet following Djokovic’s letter to Australian Open organisers came on top of his criticism of the 17-time major winner for organising last June’s Adria Tour exhibition event in the Balkans during the coronavirus pandemic.
Multiple players, including Djokovic, ended up testing positive for COVID-19, with Kyrgios describing the decision to hold the event as “boneheaded”.
Djokovic the ‘Lebron James’ of men’s tennis
Late last month, Kyrgios backed his criticism of Djokovic, saying he wanted to call out players for their poor behaviour.
“[Djokovic is] one of our leaders of our sport. He’s technically our LeBron James in the way he has to be setting an example for all tennis players,” Kyrgios told CNN last month.
“When he was doing some of the things he was doing during the global pandemic, it just wasn’t the right time.
“I know everyone makes mistakes, some of us go off track sometimes, and I think we have to hold each other accountable.
“We’re colleagues at the end of the day; we compete against each other, we play in the same sport.
“No-one else was really holding him [Djokovic] accountable.
“Everyone loses their way a little bit but I think he just needs to pull it back.
“I’m not doing any of this sort of stuff for media attention. These are the morals I’ve grown up with and I was just trying to do my part.”
Both Djokovic and Kyrgios begin their Australian Open campaigns on Monday night.
Djokovic, an eight-time winner at Melbourne Park, plays France’s Jeremy Chardy, while the 47th-ranked Kyrgios meets Portuguese qualifier Frederico Ferreira Silva in the first round.
They are on the same half of the draw, but will not meet each other until the semi-finals should they advance that far in the tournament.
Kyrgios has won his only two encounters against Djokovic on the ATP Tour, both victories coming in 2017.
