“Nick Kyrgios believes that Novak Djokovic “needs to be playing at all costs” and is pleased that the Serb will be permitted to return to Australia to compete in the first Grand Slam of the season in Melbourne next month.
Nick Kyrgios believes that Novak Djokovic “needs to be playing at all costs.” Due to his refusal to be vaccinated, Djokovic was deported earlier this year and prohibited from returning to Australia.
That decision, however, has been reversed, and the 21-time major champion will now have the chance to compete for a record-extending 10th Australian Open title in a few weeks.
During the controversy surrounding Djokovic’s deportation in January, Kyrgios was one of the players who spoke out most in favor of the 35-year-old, and the Australian world number 22 believes that Djokovic needs to be present at every event.
At the World Tennis League on Wednesday in Dubai, Kyrgios told AFP, “I think Novak needs to be playing at all costs.”
“We need him at these tournaments as long as he’s going to be playing and hanging around,” says one of the greatest players ever.
Djokovic’s nonappearance from two of the four majors in 2022 because of his immunization status has cleared a path for youthful ability to arise.
At the US Open, Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title and became the youngest world number one in ATP history.
Kyrgios said of Djokovic, “I think, as a competitor, I want to see him there.”
“And if I win a tournament, you kind of know the tournament isn’t really a tournament if you don’t go through Novak.”
Djokovic was supposed to play Kyrgios on Wednesday in Dubai, but he pulled out before the match and was replaced by his teammate Grigor Dimitrov.
A statement issued by the WTL stated, “Novak Djokovic announced that he would not be participating in the World Tennis League event tonight (21 December) due to not feeling 100% well enough to play.”
“We anticipate Novak’s return to center court, and Team Falcons will continue to play Team Eagles.”
Kyrgios wanted to play Djokovic again after the Australian’s defeat in the Wimbledon final in July.
Kyrgios stated, “I wanted to go out there and have some fun with him,” and “I was pretty excited to play Novak obviously since the Wimbledon final and all that.”
“But he’s got to take care of his body, and obviously he has a big couple of months with a lot of expectations coming up, so I wasn’t surprised if he wasn’t feeling 100% ready to get out there,”
Between December 19 and 24, 18 of the best players in the world will compete in the mixed-team event known as the WTL, which will be held at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena.