Nick Kyrgios recently reacted in his trademark humorous style to Novak Djokovic's offer to coach him.
Djokovic survived an early challenge on Wednesday, April 19 at the Srpska Open, rallying from a set down to reach the ATP 250 event's quarter-finals. The World No. 1 defeated French teen Luca Van Assche 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2 in a thrilling second-round match.
Following his victory, Djokovic was asked in a press conference which tennis players he would like to coach, and he immediately took Nick Kyrgios' name. He also joked that he could help the Aussie win five Majors but at a high cost.
"I would like to coach Kyrgios. He would have won five Grand Slams with me, but it would have cost him dearly," he said.
Kyrgios immediately reacted to the comment on his Instagram stories, offering the Serb a nice dinner and some drinks.
"Hahahah......instead let's go have a nice dinner and some drinks," Kyrgios wrote.
"You just have to be a mental animal to win a Grand Slam; Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal, I think I give them a bit more respect now" - Nick Kyrgios
After his impressive run at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the final, Nick Kyrgios told Eurosport that the mental strength needed to win a Grand Slam title was immense. Kyrgios admitted that his respect for Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer - who have each won 20 or more Grand Slams - has grown.
"You just have to be a mental animal to win a Grand Slam. Novak, Federer, and Nadal, I think I give them a bit more respect now," Kyrgios said.
The Australian added that playing the Serb in the final gave him a lot of confidence.
"Playing one of them in the final, I felt like he was fresh, felt like he wasn’t playing tennis for the last two weeks, never seen him rattled. I take so much confidence from it," Kyrgios said.
Kyrgios also said he believes Wimbledon is the biggest title to win in tennis.
"I think Wimbledon is the biggest title ever. I even had a chat with my team, that I thought if I won Wimbledon, I’d really struggle after that for motivation," he said.
The 27-year-old went on to express pride at having been just a step away from winning the trophy at SW19.
"I really don’t know what more I would have to prove as a tennis player. It’s exciting, I still look back and I still take so much confidence from it. I was one hurdle away from the trophy," he added.
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