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Melbourne fans will have the chance to see a crack duel before the Australian Open! Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios will play an exhibition match at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday the 13th. Tickets went online Tuesday morning at $20 and sold out in 58 minutes.
So Djokovic and Kyrgios will compete in front of a packed crowd, offering a good show. Novak and Nick were far from friends in the past, as the Australian used any opportunity to attack the Serb. Their relationship improved last year, when Nick defended Novak during their 10-day saga in Australia.
Kyrgios defeated Djokovic in their opening matches on Tour, and they met again in the Wimbledon final last year. Nick played well to reach his first Major semifinal, receiving a walkover from Rafael Nadal and setting up the title clash against Djokovic.
The Serbian needed three hours and a minute to prevail 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6 and lift his seventh Wimbledon crown. Novak saved five of six break points and broke Nick for the first time of his career in the second set to kick off his comeback.
Nick got off to a perfect start in his first Major final, taking the first set 6-4 in 31 minutes. He broke Novak at 2-2 after a double fault from the Serb and held on after the deuce in the tenth game with an ace down the T line for 6-4.
Novak pressed on the return at 2-1 in the second set and created three break points with a backhand cross winner. He clinched first after a lucky rope winner at the net for a massive 3-1 lead. Djokovic served for the set at 5-3 and found himself down 40-0.
Novak kept his cool, denying four break points and hitting a service winner on set point to level the score at 1-1 after 70 minutes. With momentum on his side, Djokovic controlled the pace in the third set, dropping six points after the opening blow and securing a late break.
The Australian received a warning for insulting after being interrupted by someone in the crowd, but he still held on and kept in touch.
Kyrgios wants viewers to hold their opinion on the show
Nick Kyrgios is quite excited about the upcoming Netflix tennis documentary Break Point, hoping it will attract more fans to the sport.
"As I’m told the next bunch gets into darker and more depth of each player and everything. The first episodes have to explain how tennis actually works. For everyone’s sakes I hope it attracts more. But I would hold up on all the opinions until the next ones come out," Kyrgios tweeted.
Australian Open’s 'Perfect Practice series' will see a number of top players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios, and Daniil Medvedev face each other.