From "Who" to "Got game": Nick Kyrgios praises Novak Djokovic's Australian Open 1R opponent Dino Prizmic months after taking dig at him

Australian tennis professional Nick Kyrgios commended Dino Prizmic, Novak Djokovic's first-round opponent at the 2024 Australian Open, months after taking a dig at him.

Prizmic produced clinical performances in the qualifying rounds to enter the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. The World No. 178, who won the French Open junior title in 2023, took down Mariano Navone, Duje Adjukovic, and Aziz Dougaz in the qualifiers.

Prizmic's debut in Melbourne began on a disappointing note as Djokovic clinched the opening set 6-2 in no time. The 18-year-old, however, fought back strongly to snatch the second set in the tiebreak.

The Serb upped the ante in the third set and doubled down in the fourth by racing to a 4-0 lead. When it all looked said and done, Prizmic clawed his way back into the match by winning three games in a row. In the end, however, it was the Serb who advanced to the second round with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 win.

Nick Kyrgios, who is not in the mix at the Happy Slam, took to X (formerly Twitter) to praise the young Croatian for his effort.

"Prizmic got game," Kyrgios wrote.

Interestingly, Dino Prizmic is one of the players that Kyrgios had taken a jibe at during the Croatia Open in July 2023. The Australian's compatriot Alexei Popyrin defeated Prizmic in the quarterfinals of the tournament en route to a title-winning finish.

Kyrgios reacted to the quarterfinal result, writing:

"Who are some of these players haha"

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Novak Djokovic remains unbeaten at Australian Open since 2019

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic secured his 29th straight win at the Australian Open by downing Dino Prizmic on Sunday, January 14, and continued his unbeaten streak which started in 2019.

The Serb won the Happy Slam five years ago by defeating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the final. He took down Mitchell Krueger, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Denis Shapovalov, Daniil Medvedev, Kei Nishikori, and Lucas Pouille to reach the final.

The World No. 1 triumphed Down Under again in 2020 with a win over Dominic Thiem in the decider. He went past Jan-Lenard Struff, Ito Tatsuma, Nishioka Yoshihito, Diego Schwartzman, Milos Raonic, and Roger Federer before the final.

The Serb completed the hattrick at the 2021 Australian Open as he bettered Medvedev in the summit clash. Prior to that, he downed Jeremy Chardy, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Raonic, Alexander Zverev, and Aslan Karatsev.

After being forced to skip the 2022 edition, Djokovic's 10th glory at the Melbourne Major came in 2023. He defeated Roberto Carballes, Enzo Couacaud, Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, and Tommy Paul before outlasting Stefanos Tsitsipas in the summit clash.