Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic voice their support for Novak Djokovic amid visa saga

Never shy about calling it as he sees it, Nick Kyrgios has slammed Australia’s treatment of Novak Djokovic and explained why our grand slam needs him.

Nick Kyrgios came into bat for Novak Djokovic

Australian tennis players Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios have both sided with Novak Djokovic, claiming the world No.1 should be allowed to play in the Australian Open.

Djokovic is locked up in hotel quarantine in Melbourne and facing deportation after arriving in Australia without a proper medical exemption from vaccination.

Never shy about calling it as he sees it, Kyrgios slammed Australia’s treatment of

Djokovic, calling it ‘inhumane’ to detain the Serbian tennis champion after his visa application was revoked.

And the outspoken Aussie also fired a warning to the critics hoping Djokovic will be so overwhelmed by all the attention his case has generated, predicting that he would be more motivated than ever because the bear had been poked.

No stranger to controversy himself, Kyrgios has leapt to Djokovic’s defence and his bid to play the Australian Open, even though he knows it’s a widely unpopular view because most people want the world number one deported on the first plane to Belgrade.

Bernard Tomic has thrown his support behind Novak Djokovic. Picture: Getty Images

“I’m feeling for him now,” Kyrgios said. “It’s not really humane, is it, what’s going on?

“If this was a normal person they wouldn‘t have to deal with all this sort of media side of bulls**t. His life’s probably hard enough as it is, and I know what that’s like. I just hope it all gets sorted soon.”

That could happen as early as Monday when Djokovic’s appeal to the federal circuit court is heard, but Kyrgios says it should have never got that far because it’s been handled badly.

On that point, Kyrgios won’t find too many in disagreement because the whole saga has resembled a circus act, with Tennis Australia and government running and ducking for cover and blaming everyone else but themselves.

“Obviously it‘s a bit of a mess with what’s going on, and I just don’t think we have gone about it the right way. That’s just my opinion,” Kyrgios said.

“Honestly, I hope it all gets sorted as soon as possible. For the sport we need him here, it‘s that simple. He’s one of the most influential sports people probably of all time.

“If he‘s ready to play and he’s allowed to play, I think, in a way it’s good for our sport with all this attention because probably the Australian Open won’t have as many views as it’s ever probably had.”

Kyrgios’s surprising support for Djokovic underlines the depth and range of feelings on the case because they’re not exactly bosom buddies.

Kyrgios was full of praise for Djokovic.

They’ve been publicly feuding for years, with Kyrgios famously labelling the Serb as ‘a tool’, though he says their differences are not as deep as everyone thinks.

“That‘s the funny thing., me and Novak actually used to be like friends, used to practice at events and the media has kind of divided us,” Kyrgios said.

“They have just blown it out of proportion with some things, and now it‘s almost made it 30 times worse where it really wasn’t that bad.

“I remember Novak was actually one of the only players when I was young that came towards me and said, ‘if you ever need anything, feel free to reach out and I‘ll be open to help.’

“I also feel like he‘s helped us as well. Like during the bushfires, he was supportive, he was helping us out.

“We are so quick to forget that he’s actually helped us, he reached out, he didn‘t have to do that. Most athletes wouldn’t do that. They’re selfish, most athletes are. So I don’t forget that.

“I could use this as a publicity stunt. I could just agree with the general person and say ‘yeah, this isn’t good’ but I don‘t think that’s right. That’s why I’m using my platform now to say we’ve got to do better, we have to do better.”

Kyrgios is also one of the rare players in world tennis that has a winning record against Djokovic, who is bidding to win a record 21st grand slam title that would elevated him as the greatest male player of all time.

Nick Kyrgios during a clash with Djokovic in 2017. Picture: Getty Images

They have only faced each other twice with the Australian coming out on top both times.

But despite his record and going into bat for him, Kyrgios says he wouldn’t want to run into him at the Australian Open if he’s allowed to defend his title because he’s expecting a backlash.

“I don‘t want any bar of him. I reckon he’s going to be pissed off. He’s going to be very determined to play well and stick it to everyone of what’s going on. And I don’t want any bar of that Novak,” Kyrgios said.

“I think he‘ll have no problem preparing. I think this is just all added fuel for him. We all know how good of a competitor he is. You don’t become a great champion like that without being able to overcome some adversity like this and I’m sure he’s overcome a lot more challenging times than spending a couple more extra days in hotel rooms.

“He‘s going to be dangerous if he’s on court at the Australian Open, and I don’t want to play him right now, that’s for sure. Someone else can have that task.”

Pro-vaccination Tomic said that while he understands there are rules for a reason, he believes Djokovic deserves better.

“I consider Novak a close friend,” Tomic said on Saturday.

“I wish that this was handled very differently.

“I do understand the rules are the rules and no one is above the rules and I understand where the government is coming from. I hope it all works out very soon for him.

“He is number one. It will be a shame if the number one player is going to miss out on playing.”

Originally published as Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic voice their support for Novak Djokovic amid visa saga