“I don’t know why Kyrgios says all of these things. If he wants to attract ” attention, or if he has other motivations. He can say whatever he wants, I don’t have a problem with that. ” It was in June 2019. Asked about the attacks of the fantastic Aussie against him, Novak Djokovic expressed his incomprehension and was careful not to reply with virulence. But nothing helped, it was just the start of a series of spikes he was the target of. So much so that for the supporters of the Serbian – still treated of “dumbass“lately – and some observers, it turns into an obsession.
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But what did Novak Djokovic do to Nick Kyrgios? To tell the truth, nothing. At least personally. Just the “Djoker”, who laughed yellow after two defeats in quick succession in February-March 2017 in Acapulco and Indian Wells (their only two confrontations to date on the circuit), had he then made a small observation on the behavior of his opponent. “He is very aggressive, tries his luck on first as a second ball. This is his style. He plays a certain way, talks and behaves on the court in a certain way. Apparently it works… “, he had noticed a bit disillusioned.
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Tennis
ATP Cup – Serbia out, Germany in the semi-finals
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A forehand at breathtaking speed: Kyrgios has not lost his hand
Symbolize authenticity in a sanitized tennis world
Not enough to move Kyrgios at the time who had not rebounded on this (very) light blow of the knife. No, the Australian didn’t need a pretext when, two years later, during the tournament in Rome, he spoke without filter in the podcast hosted by American journalist Ben Rothenberg “No Challenges Remaining “. Asked what he thought of the “Big 4”, the great Nick did not walk away. If Andy Murray – one of his friends on the circuit – and Roger Federer – whom he admires – had been spared, Rafael Nadal and especially Djokovic therefore had taken for their rank.
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To the Spaniard, whose adaptability to the grass he also praised, he criticized a double talk following the results of their matches. However, that was nothing compared to what he had in store for the Serb. “Djokovic? He has a sick obsession with the need to be loved. He wants to be Roger. He wants to be loved so much that I can’t stand him. It becomes embarrassing. He always says what he thinks he has to say, he never gives his opinion. His celebration is killing me. If I face him and defeat him, then I will make his celebration in front of him. Wouldn’t that be hilarious?“, had let loose the brazen.
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The problem would therefore come from the personality of Djokovic that Kyrgios considers false and calculating. But by the time he said them, he also knew that this kind of talk served his character. That of the keeper from going in circles. What better way for him than to attack the boss of a circuit so sanitized in his eyes? Besides, he was the first to claim it. “In this sport more than in any other, everyone respects everyone. When I enter the court against Nadal, Federer or Djokovic, I do not understand why I should necessarily and automatically respect them. Literally, they’re just hitting a ball over a net. (…) If you don’t like someone, say it, don’t pretend you like them. Sport would gain there. If everyone loves everyone it’s no fun.”
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Nick Kyrgios, Lleyton Hewitt and Novak Djokovic in Melbourne in 2018
Credit: Getty Images
Two outcasts with opposite characters
To go so strong, however, Kyrgios must have formed an opinion early enough on his “target”. Perhaps it dates from an initiative taken with the best intentions according to Djokovic during a US Open in 2014 or 2015? “At the time, everyone was on his back because of his pranks. I offered to help him by telling him that we could talk if he needed it, because I had suffered similar criticism for my behavior when I was younger.“, explained the world number 1 in June 2019. He was referring to his beginnings when he imitated the best players on the circuit who had not necessarily taken it well at the time.
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But by making the actor, if he was able to attract some enmities, the young Djokovic sought to seduce the public and the media with multiple masks (both literally and figuratively). Not so much the kind of turbulent Kyrgios who probably didn’t recognize himself in his aspiring protector. Because the great Nick cares little about the judgment of others. A shell that he probably takes from a childhood marked by mockery because of his weight and the revenge taken on those who did not consider him for a moment to become a professional athlete.
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If Djokovic, marked by war and the stigmatization of the Serbian people as the villain of the story, seeks harmony, peace and recognition at all costs (even if anger sometimes resurfaces), Kyrgios blossoms in the chaos. At least on the court that he uses as an outlet. In a way, he almost saw himself as the anti-Djokovic. And it is also a way for him to make the link with another universe that is dear to him, that of basketball and the NBA, where trash-talking constantly feeds rivalries. And the one he maintains with Djoko, he takes pleasure in maintaining it.
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Tennis as a pleasure: Djokovic bores him when Federer entertains him
Like when, in July 2019, the Aussie had fun crossing the name “Novak” on the T-shirt of an American fan in search of an autograph. To see the happy face of the phenomenon, there is a very childish pleasure behind this type of antics. Moreover, this reflects a fundamental difference in the conception of sport and tennis between the two men. Kyrgios sees them first and foremost as a way to have fun and have fun. His idols of youth? Gaël Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, players “spectacular, entertaining and offensive“, like Federer whom he considers”greatest of all time“, even if some or all of the statistics one day contradict the assertion.
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To stir the knife in the wound, he confirmed only two weeks ago what he had already said on the subject. “No matter how many Majors Novak wins, he’s never going to be the biggest for me. I’ve played against him twice, and if he can’t beat me he can’t be the greatest ever“, he considered, a smirk, happy with his small effect. But was not Djokovic then in full doubt and injured? And two small matches can they say so much? emptiness of the argument, Kyrgios has fun shaking up the statutes to spice up this circuit which bores him. His boss, the “wall” Djokovic and his consistency inspire him respect in tennis, nothing more.
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But from the occasional Turkish leader, Djokovic has moved on to a privileged target in recent months. Why ? A main answer to this question: the Adria Tour last June. If he likes to provoke on the courts, the Australian no longer laughs when lives are on the line. And this conviction does not affect anything. Hadn’t he initiated the solidarity movement in world tennis in the face of the fires in Australia? Did he not decide at the end of February 2020 to leave the circuit aside and return to his hometown of Canberra so as not to endanger his family?
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From occasional Turkish head to intimate enemy: the turning point of the Adria Tour
“I don’t think I’m a bad boy at all. I get a little carried away on the court, hot, but that’s what happens when you’re competitive and angry. Outside of the court, I have never done anything against the law. I have never driven while drinking, I have not stolen… If you take a step back, I am really not mean“, had also estimated Kyrgios in Indian Wells in 2017. No wonder then that the non-respect of barrier gestures, the absence or almost of the wearing of the mask and the thousands of spectators present during the tour in the Balkans organized by Djokovic got the Aussie out of him.
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The acid tweets then surged. “Organizing this exhibition was a stupid decision“, he had first insisted. Before adding a layer:”My prayers to all infected players. But it is no longer worth mentioning my actions as irresponsible actions. The Adria Tour surpasses everything“Djokovic was not the only one to endure his criticisms: Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem, who had been invited by the Serbian, were also pinned down as they should.
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But Kyrgios hasn’t let go of his favorite victim since. Bouncing back on the Djokovic case, every time he has been at the center of tennis news, and in particular during his disqualification from the US Open. “If I had been in the Djoker’s shoes, what do you think my penalty would have been for ‘accidentally throwing a ball at a linesman’? 5, 10 or 20 years of suspension“, he asked ironically in a poll published on Twitter. The childish quarrel or the desire to create a rivalry from scratch to serve his character have fizzled out.
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Grosjean: “Kyrgios is very endearing, but very hard to manage in a tournament”
Kyrgios sees Djokovic as “LeBron James of tennis” … irresponsible
Now, it is Novak, the man, and his convictions that repel the Australian. Whether it is his doubts about vaccination or recently his desire to be the spokesperson for players in total quarantine by gathering their proposals in a letter. All this would probably not be so bad for Kyrgios if Djokovic was not world number 1 and at the center of the political game. “He is one of the leaders of our sport. He’s kind of our LeBron James and he has to set an example for all tennis players. I know everyone makes mistakes, and some of us can go off the rails, but I think we need to be able to be held to account.”
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Kyrgios therefore wants to face Djokovic with his responsibilities, those of an ambassador of world tennis, as are also Federer and Nadal. Rather ironic, some will say, coming from a regular fines on the courts and even suspended suspended by ATP at the end of 2019 because of a series of borderline behaviors. But in the past year, the public has certainly discovered a facet of the facetious Nick more endearing, concerned about others than what tennis shows him. And if, to cultivate it, it sends from time to time a few remote-controlled missiles to the world number 1, this one will not take offense. Because as Djoko himself said so well, he still sleeps well at night.
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