Novak Djokovic is all set to defend his Wimbledon title from last year, playing Argentina’s Pedro Cachin in his Round of 128 match on Monday. All eyes are on the World No.2, as he aims for his 24th Grand Slam title, with many claiming that he should have been given the No. 1 seeding in the men’s singles draw. However, it might turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Djokovic, who has not lost a match at SW19 since 2017.
Djokovic might find life a little difficult from the quarterfinals stage, which has usually been the case with every player who has been amongst the top 3 seeds every year. It is very likely that he may play Russia’s 7th seed Andrey Rublev or Canada’s Felix Augur-Aliassime in the last 8. The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who has an impressive record against both of them, could definitely have his worries lessened when it comes to making it into the semi-finals courtesy of an important update.
Nick Kyrgios backs out of Wimbledon 2023 at the 11th hour owning to persistent knee troubles
Although Australia’s Nick Kyrgios is ranked No.33 in the world at present, he was placed in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic. It meant that had both players advanced further in the tournament, they could have met each other in the quarterfinals. Co-incidentally, Djokovic and Kyrgios were the two who battled it out in last year’s Wimbledon final, with the former winning in 4 sets.
The news has stunned the tennis community since Nick Kyrgios, who is one of the rare players on the ATP Tour to beat Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas atleast once, will miss out. Kyrgios was extremely bullish barely two days about participating in the competition, confirming his name for the draw with a confident-sounding Instagram post. He even recently gave an interview for the ATP Tour’s official website, claiming that he has ‘no fear’ in living up to expectations from him, especially on grass.
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However, the fact that Kyrgios hasn’t been to train full strength while having a poor grass season leadup has laid waste to his plans. It gives an opportunity to several upcoming players to get a major boost in their careers, as for many, making it to the quarterfinals of such a competitive tournament, is prestigious.
Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic: Head to head, rivalry and relationship over the years
Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic shared a frosty relationship before Covid-19 struck in 2020. In 2017, Kyrgios made a name for himself by beating Djokovic in both their ATP Tour clashes. Those matches were on hard courts, which is clearly Djokovic’s dominion for having won several Grand Slams and ATP titles on it.
In 2022 though, Djokovic managed to overcome Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final for the first time in his career which still means Kyrgios leads 2-1 on head-to-head. Yet, Kyrgios seems to have changed his perception about Djokovic, calling him the ‘greatest player of all-time’ on many occasions. The bygones are bygones as the duo have bantered with each other in public and on social media in recent years, having mutual respect which has surprised the tennis community.
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Recently, Nick Kyrgios joined the Novak Djokovic-led Players Tennis Professional Association (PTPA), whose purpose is negotiate with top bosses of the game to run it in the best interests of the players. Co-incidentally, both the players strictly follow a vegan diet, albeit for different reasons altogether. This is one clash which tennis fans will surely miss at the Wimbledon 2023 but will make things just that bit easier the defending champion.
