As soon as the organizers of the first Grand Slam of the season announced that former world number one Novak Djokovic will play a training duel with Nick Kyrgios on Melbourne Park’s center court on Friday and that extra tickets for the match will be sold, the fans they were suddenly on high alert.
After the launch of the sale for the single price of 20 dollars, they literally flooded the Ticketmaster server website, where it was possible to buy a ticket for the match. All 14,820 seats were sold out in approximately 58 minutes.
Wow Nick Kyrgios is bad for sport! Wow what a disgrace, national embarrassment! How dare he sell another stage, arrogance https://t.co/Sn37U2nAjv
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 10, 2023
Kyrgios has used the huge interest in his match to ironically mock his critics, who accuse him of not setting a good example for young players with his behavior and of not doing a good service to tennis in general.
A ticket sale for a practice?? Seriously? The USO has never charged for Rafa’s training, except for a free pass you get from a website. Just absurd! https://t.co/h3i747TYVW
— Madel Suravilla (@madel_suravilla) January 9, 2023
“Wow, Nick Kyrgios is hurting the sport! Wow, what a shame, a shame on the nation! How could he afford to sell another stadium, such arrogance, ”wrote the Australian stormtrooper on his Twitter account.
While the duel will only be training, it should have the same formalities as a classic Grand Slam match, including referees and ball pickers.
Both players will meet for the first time since last year’s Wimbledon final. While Djokovic celebrated his title at the Adelaide tournament at the weekend, Kyrgios last played at the December exhibition in Dubai.
