Nick Kyrgios hits the court, sidelined star practices with Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon bromance

Nick Kyrgios secured his dream date at Wimbledon when managing to finally jump on the court with Novak Djokovic for a training session ahead of a potential return to the tour next month.

Novak Djokovic interviewed by Nick Kyrgios post-match at the Australian Open. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Nick Kyrgios secured his dream date at Wimbledon when managing to finally jump on the court with Novak Djokovic for a training session ahead of a potential return to the tour next month.

A finalist at Wimbledon in 2022 when beaten by the seven-time champion, the 28-year-old had been due to hit with the Serbian earlier in the opening week at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, only for his work schedules commentating for the BBC and ESPN to intervene.

But the 29-year-old, who is due to play in an Ultimate Tennis Showdown exhibition event at Forrest Hills in New York prior to the US Open, was able to secure a session ahead of Djokovic’s third round clash with Australian Alexei Popyrin on Saturday.

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This was always going to be entertaining 😅

Presenting @NickKyrgios & @DjokerNole on the practice courts at #Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/3Z50AAJIJx

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2024

It was not the most intense training session Aorangi Park has hosted, with the exchanges more hit-and-giggle as Djokovic and Kyrgios displayed plenty of trick shots while clowning around at times, clearly mindful of the spotlight on the court.

Former Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko, hitting two courts away, was among those laughing at times at the antics of the former rivals who now share a bromance on the tour.

On an adjoining court, Kyrgios’s former Davis Cup teammate Alex de Minaur again practised with Cruz Hewitt under the watchful eye of former world No. 1 and Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt ahead of his third round match with Lucas Pouille.

The lighthearted session at Aorangi Park is a far cry from the scene at the practice facility a year ago when Kyrgios, who was beaten a fortnight earlier in his only match for the year when resuming from a knee injury, struggled to move and looked downcast.

But it was not the knee which caused his withdrawal on the eve of the 2023 Championships, with the Canberran instead citing a wrist complaint. He underwent surgery in Adelaide last September and the road back towards the tour has been a slow path.

Kyrgios is eyeing of a return in doubles and had hoped to partner his good friend Thanasi Kokkinakis, who he claimed the 2022 Australian Open doubles championship with, in the US next month.

Those plans will hinge on the severity of the knee injury Kokkinakis suffered in the second round when slipping against Lucas Pouille, with the South Australian to undergo scans on the joint, but the South Australian had been looking forward to the opportunity.

“He’s a busy man. He’s doing a lot of stuff but tennis at the moment. But I know he’ll be back on a court very soon. I know he loves the commentary and I think he’s very good at it,” Kokkinakis said.

“I know he said he was going to start with some doubles, potentially. I told him to give me a buzz when he’s ready and we’ll start off and play, but yeah, he’s making the most of his off-court time, that’s for sure.”

Novak Djokovic is interviewed by Nick Kyrgios ahead of the 2024 Australian Open. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Kyrgios, who reached the US Open quarterfinals following the run to the Wimbledon final and was arguably in the top five players in the world through the middle stages of 2022, told the UTS website this week that he has missed competing.

“I’m trying to have some hits with the players who are here to see where my wrist is at. It’s been 10 months since my surgery, so I’ll try to work my way back onto court,” he said.

“I’ll be playing doubles in the next month (on the ATP Tour). It will be exciting. I’ll probably start there and hopefully, if everything is OK, I’ll move to singles and then I’ll see how long I’ll hang around for.

“I missed competing, I missed hearing the crowd, my fans. Even the people that hate me, I miss them, I miss them all. I can’t wait to be back.”