Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios have rekindled their bromance at the 2024 Australian Open.
On Tuesday, January 23, Djokovic beat Taylor Fritz 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in three hours and 45 minutes to reach the semifinals of the Melbourne Major. With the win, he extended his unbeaten streak against American opponents at Grand Slams to 10.
The post-match on-court interview, much to everyone's surprise, was conducted by Kyrgios, who has been working as a commentator for French broadcaster Eurosport at the tournament.
Djokovic expressed happiness to see Kyrgios, before adding that he would prefer to see him as an opponent on the court. The Australian has barely played since the start of 2023 due to injury troubles.
"Good to see you man. Great to see you looking good in that booth, but looking better here [on the court] hopefully with a racket also soon. Yeah. We miss Nick. Come on, guys. Show him some love," Djokovic said.
The World No. 1 was given a tough challenge by Fritz in the first two sets before he regrouped and finished the match on a strong note. Looking back at the contest, Djokovic stated that he felt like he was playing Kyrgios, who also has a strong serve like Fritz.
"Felt like I was playing you man, with your serve," he said with a smile.
"I mean Taylor, we all know Taylor has got one of the best serves in the world for many years. So I knew the kind of a threat he poses when he serves on such a high quality. I think I upped my game probably midway through the third set all the way to the end. I served extremely well I think, I've had probably even more aces than he did, which is a surprise stat. But it helped a lot obviously, in this kind of this kind of matchup," he added.
Novak Djokovic to face either Jannik Sinner or Andrey Rublev in 2024 Australian SF
After his win against Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic will face either Jannik Sinner or Andrey Rublev in the semifinals of the 2024 Australian Open.
The Serb said he was well aware of both players' capabilities and added that he was looking forward to the next match. He praised Rublev for the way he came through the five-setter against Alex de Minaur in the previous round.
"I watched Rublev the other night against de Minaur, five sets. Some of the quickest exchanges, grueling exchanges I've seen in Rod Laver Arena in years. They both played incredible tennis," he said.
"Sinner, he's probably playing tennis of his life. I can expect him to play always on the highest level," he added.
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