After abusing each other in public, it seems Nick Kyrgios has now turned one of his former enemies into a friend. While this holds true when it comes to Novak Djokovic, British broadcaster Piers Morgan is also on that list for the Australian star. In a recent interview with Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Kyrgios opened up about the 2022 Wimbledon final he played against Djokovic. He then compared that to the one played in the 2023 edition involving Carlos Alcaraz to answer the Brit’s query about what makes the 24-time Grand Slam champion annoying.
Nick Kyrgios is respectful about the aura Wimbledon has on tennis players like him. So had he beaten Novak Djokovic in that final, it would have been the happiest moment of his career. However, on the day, the 7-time Wimbledon champion was just outstanding.
After losing the first set, Djokovic played a near-flawless game in the next 3 sets to deny the Australian his first Grand Slam title. While Kyrgios doesn’t mind the loss now, knowing full well that he lost to a legend, he used his wit and sense of humor to move to the 2023 final smoothly.
In 2023, Novak Djokovic faltered in a 5-set match against Carlos Alcaraz. Nick Kyrgios believes that unlike 2022, Djokovic played ‘average’ against Alcaraz and hilariously wished that the Serb played at that level against him in 2022.
The mercurial Aussie also added that Carlos Alcaraz is meant to win more Grand Slams as it is, so why didn’t Novak Djokovic spare him? It left Piers Morgan in splits too.
“He (Djokovic) is so annoying. He let Alcaraz win Wimbledon and didn’t let me win Wimbledon. Alcaraz was always gonna win more Grand Slams, but he could’ve given me one.
“Alcaraz was always gonna win one, and he (Djokovic) decides to play pretty average in that one and play ‘lights out’ against me. ‘Thanks Novak, yeah, appreciate it,” Kyrgios was quoted as saying in the interview.
Kyrgios’ complaint against Djokovic was actually a praise directed at the Serb. The duo have grown very fond of each other, so much so that the Australian, in recent years, changed his GOAT from Roger Federer to Novak Djokovic.
Nick Kyrgios Talks Up Novak Djokovic in Front of Serb’s Nemesis Piers Morgan
Nick Kyrgios looks to have spent more time with Novak Djokovic and has understood him well, which is what made him keep aside his old beef with him. Djokovic is grateful for Kyrgios for being one of the few unexpected people back in 2022 to defend him in public when he was being slammed for his take on not being vaccinated and being denied a chance by the Australian government to play at the Australian Open that year.
Coming back to the interview, Nick Kyrgios acknowledged the fact that Roger Federer, highly popular as he is, remains the best ever player to watch. However, Djokovic is the greatest since his hunger for winning, even at this age, is unreal.
In fact, Kyrgios did not hesitate to call Djokovic amongst the greatest athletes the history of sport has ever had, despite Morgan being shocked with that statement and interjecting him. The Australian had a lot to say on that before Morgan could move on to the next part of the interview.
“The prettiest to watch is Federer. The best to ever pick up a racquet is Novak.
“Tennis is different from other sports because of the intangibles involved. The constant travel from one place to another, which means adapting to different time zones each week, you don’t know when and where you are going to travel next. So to manage your diet and mind accordingly, takes a lot and that is where Novak is incredible,” Kyrgios was quoted as saying.
At Wimbledon 2024, it would be interesting to see if Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic collaborate for a broadcast segment or a social media activity.
