MELBOURNE, Australia – Novak Djokovic’s flat-mouthed volley was a catapult for Nick Kyrgios, who blew a happy return. “Afraid,” he muttered under his breath, “nail him.”
Kyrgios made his point at an Australian Open news conference, not in court, where he last met Djokovic in 2017. The men worked over months and over time zones on the longest rally of the season, a seesaw of snoring. which captivated an audience attracted to the feline atmosphere of Real Housewives of Melbourne.
Kyrgios called Djokovic “a tool”. Djokovic said he has no respect for Kyrgios from the court. Kyrgios called Djokovic “a very strange cat”. A tired Djokovic sighs and says, ‘Great. ‘
The ball was in Kyrgios’ court again on Wednesday, but he was too exhausted after his exciting five-set return over 29th seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert to make another turn on Djokovic, who is also through to Friday’s third round. .
A word war between the two years would be just as provocative as a plastic knife fight. Djokovic is the eight-time defending champion and world number 1 for men who will top Roger Federer’s record of 310 weeks next month (and probably pass).
Kyrgios ranks 47th with six ATP titles. He has never made it to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event and was better known for his collapse than any milestone. The victory of Kyrgios against Humbert offers a three-hour tour through its vast internal terrain; the brilliant shots and the unfortunate storms that left in their tracks: a shattered rocket, two violations of the code and a bunch of explicit ones.
“If you were in my head, there were some dark thoughts inside,” Kyrgios admitted.
Any other year, even in his home, Slam, Kyrgios, a Canberra resident, would be the tantrum-thrower in the grain that gave all the adults a wide berth. But it is the first Australian Open to be played since the coronavirus pandemic stopped sports and closed schools, displaced workers and residents and closed state and international borders.
Kyrgios, 25, who has a home in the Bahamas, was lazing around with his family in the Australian capital during his five-year hiatus. His exposure to Australia’s strict one-for-all, all-in-one approach to the pandemic, one that takes social distance, masks and hand washing, but also testing, contact tracing, limited travel between the countries, curfew arrangement and lock-up, has his perspective broadens beyond the me-for-me, me-for-me mantra.
Tennis’s bad boy became the social media bard and gave voice to the hardships he saw around him. He helped where he could, whether raising money for forest fire survivors or buying and distributing food to the homeless in his hometown.
On the other side of the world, tennis’s reigning king also looked after his community. Djokovic, 33, was pulled over in Serbia, one of the European countries lightly affected by the pandemic. Djokovic, a millionaire who has been around many times, acknowledged the financial problems facing lower-ranking players he wanted to improve by arranging and setting up a two-week four-city Balkan exhibition tour in June hef.
The exclusion of Serbia was lifted, but the lack of social distance during the events, which attracted large crowds, and the photos that emerged of shirtless tennis stars dancing the night away in clubs, had players who were lonely and in their homes was locked up, insulted. When three coaches, two women and four players, including Djokovic, tested positive for the coronavirus, the setback happened quickly.
The leader of the verbal attack was Kyrgios, who declared the tour a ‘bonehead decision’ and suggested that Djokovic, as the leading player of the match, should be held accountable for his actions.
When the ATP season resumed in August, Kyrgios quit because he did not want to travel. And so it was only last month, when Djokovic arrived in Australia and began a mandatory 14-day quarantine, that Kyrgios’ bubble and Djokovic’s bubble collided in front of Australian journalists in need of a frothy distraction.
Djokovic, who resigned as president of the ATP Players’ Council last summer to begin with what he described as a complementary organization for players, was on a text section with dozens of players outlining their quarantine issues.
Djokovic, who collected the complaints, sent Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley a list that reflects the requests, which include easing the quarantine period and accessing private homes with tennis courts similar to those available to players at own expense in New York. during the United States Open last year.
“I offered to help with my position, my status, my name, with my commitment to Craig, this group of over 100 players who communicated daily about what they are missing,” Djokovic said this week.
Djokovic’s mission, which he said was meant only for Tiley’s eyes, was leaked, and Kyrgios called on Djokovic for not appreciating the sacrifices made possible by the Australian public that made the tournament possible.
An Australian reporter asked Djokovic for his response. He said Kyrgios, whom he described as ‘someone else’, was good for the sport.
“I have respect for him,” Djokovic said. “I have respect for everyone else, because everyone has the right and the freedom to choose how they want to express themselves.”
He added that he appreciates Kyrgios’ ‘big game’, but that he does not have much respect for him off the field. Like courier pigeons, Australian news media carried a version of Djokovic on Twitter on Kyrgios.
“He says he has no respect for you,” a reporter said. “Do you want to say something?”
“He’s a very strange cat, Novak,” Kyrgios said. “Who’s a tennis player, but unfortunately someone who’s partying in his shirt during a global pandemic, I do not know if I can take a slap in the face from that man.”
At Djokovic’s next news conference, Kyrgios’ words were read to him word for word. “All right,” Djokovic replied dismissively.
Did he add anything? “No,” he said.
The next shot can be delivered in court. They were able to meet each other in the semi-finals, where their different playing styles reflect their personalities. Kyrgios is aggressive, impulsive and, as befits someone who can be easily distracted, armed with a game built for short points.
Djokovic has a cartographer’s zeal for precision and discipline. He accepts suffering as the path to relief and is a stubborn defender that involves attacking from seemingly untenable positions.
In their verbal exchange, Djokovic goes on the defensive, while Kyrgios bats back every weather gate like a half-volley between his legs.
Djokovic cannot win; his 17 Grand Slam singles titles are the third most in men’s history behind Rafael Nadal and Federer, who both have 20, and yet he travels the world full as the third wheel in the public’s two – man love affair.
And Kyrgios cannot win to lose. In the second round, he said, he was able to fend off a match point to win the fourth set and then take the fifth, because he imagined losing the headlines, ‘almost scared’, to ‘all the negativity’ accept ‘in. ”
Are Djokovic and Kyrgios really that different?
Each spent part of Thursday in Melbourne Park for his countrymen. Djokovic applauded Olga Danilovic, for whom he mentors. Kyrgios watched his doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Djokovic could have spoken for both when he said he had never been ‘the man who wanted to fit in the box’.
It is not difficult to imagine Kyrgios with his rocket raised and applauding him.