Brisbane International Tennis: Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic doubles team crash out
Tennis’ most unlikely doubles pairing have crashed out of the Brisbane International, with the Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic team going down to some familiar foes.
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A familiar foe called curtains on the Nick and Novak show as tennis’ most unlikely doubles pairing bowed out to the Brisbane International No.1 seeds on Wednesday.
Kiwi veteran Michael Venus, who famously labelled Nick Kyrgios “an absolute knob” after losing to him and Thanasi Kokkinakis at the 2022 Australian Open, got his revenge against the Aussie in an entertaining 6-2, 3-6 (10-8) second-round spectacle on centre court.
In what could be the last time Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic grace the court together, the pairing put on a show for a packed Pat Rafter Arena.
In a match that featured just about everything – including a 31-shot rally in just the second game of the opening set – Kyrgios opened his full bag of tricks for the Brisbane fans, attempting tweeners every other game and even throwing his racquet skywards in a comical attempt to catch a ball destined for the stands.
But it was all in good fun for the polarising Aussie, who appeared to be having the time of his life partnering 24-time grand slam champion Djokovic for their almost certainly one-off doubles partnership.
For his part Djokovic was just as jovial, happy to banter back and forth with Kyrgios while their opponents remained stone-faced on the other side of the net.
Brandishing heavy strapping on his surgically-repaired right wrist, Kyrgios did not appear to have lost any power despite his brutal three-set defeat to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard the night before.
After that match Kyrgios warned he would “almost need a miracle” to get through a full grand slam schedule, adding his wrist was “throbbing like shit” following his first competitive singles match in 18 months.
“I think I almost need a miracle and I need the stars to align for my wrist to hold up in a grand slam, for sure,” he said.
“If I had to win that match, I’m honestly not sure if I’d be able to play my second round,” he added.
“How it (the wrist) pulls up tomorrow, I have no idea.”
On Wednesday there were the occasional winces of pain and Kyrgios grabbed at his right bicep multiple times throughout the match, though it never appeared to impact his performance.
The Aussie regularly sent down 200km/h serves and looked the more polished player of the two against the experienced doubles combination of Venus and Nikola Mektic.
With his Brisbane International commitments now finished, Kyrgios will return to his home base in Canberra to prepare for the Australian Open which begins on January 12.
Djokovic, the No.1 seed in the singles draw, will play veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils in the second round on Thursday.
Monfils has never defeated Djokovic in 19 career meetings between the pair.
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Originally published as Brisbane International Tennis: Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic doubles team crash out
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