"Feel like a little kid again" - Nick Kyrgios overjoyed to share the court with Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon amid his own injury struggles

Nick Kyrgios has shared his excitement ahead of a practice session with Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, amid injury struggles that have kept the Aussie on the sidelines for over a year. Djokovic is currently through to the second round of the tournament and has featured 19 times in the grass-court major.

Since 2023, Kyrgios' match against Yibing Wu at the Stuttgart Open is the only match he has played on the ATP tour, due to wrist and knee injuries that required surgery.

On Tuesday, the former World No.11 shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account that he will be practicing with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon and expressed his excitement about coming a long way back from surgery.

“Hitting with Novak tomorrow on his day off : feel like a little kid again…. Feeling excited. Long way back from this surgery!” - Krygios tweeted.

Novak Djokovic kicked off his Wimbledon title pursuit on Tuesday when he faced Vít Kopřiva in the first round and defeated him 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. This match against Kopřiva was Djokovic's first since his return from the knee injury he sustained at the French Open earlier in June.

After the match, while speaking to the press on court, the World No.2 expressed his excitement about his gameplay despite coming into this year's edition of the tournament just a few weeks after surgery.

“It was very good. I was very pleased with the way I moved on the court today. Obviously coming into Wimbledon this year, it was a little bit of a different circumstance for me because of the knee. I didn’t know how everything was going to unfold on the court really. Practice sessions are quite different to official match play, so I’m just extremely glad about the way I played and the way I felt today,” he said

The Serb's next opponent will be British wild card, Jacob Fearnley on Thursday. The 22-year-old defeated Alejandro Moro Cañas 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(12) in the first round.

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Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios have both had outstanding records at Wimbledon throughout their careers. Of the Serb's 24 Grand Slam titles, seven are Wimbledon Championships, and he is only one shy of equalling Roger Federer's record of eight titles.

Kyrgios, on the other hand, reached the quarterfinal of the grass-court major in his first appearance back in 2014, where he was knocked out by Milos Raonic. Before facing the Canadian in the quarterfinal, Kyrgios knocked out second seed Rafael Nadal in the second round.

Djokovic clinched his first Wimbledon title in 2011 when he defeated the defending champion, Rafael Nadal. The Serb won his seventh title 11 years later by beating Nick Kyrgios in the final of the 2022 edition.

Last season, the 37-year-old reached the final of the tournament, where he was ousted by Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz, while Kyrgios couldn't participate due to injury.