Australian Open: Nick Kyrgios throws support behind ‘alienated’ Novak Djokovic, blasting his treatment as ‘really bad’
- Kyrgios, who arrived in Melbourne after a week in isolation, said more players should be backing the 20-time grand slam champion
- ‘As a human, he’s obviously feeling quite alienated in all of this’ Kyrgios added
Nick Kyrgios threw his support behind “alienated” Novak Djokovic and criticised a lack of backing from other players, as the world number one faced a decisive court hearing Sunday on the eve of the Australian Open.
Kyrgios – who is set to play in the grand slam despite testing positive for Covid-19 last week – was previously one of the Serbian’s staunchest critics and once labelled him a “tool” over his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
But the divisive Australian surprisingly came to his defence after the unvaccinated Djokovic was held in immigration detention on his arrival in Australia, blasting his treatment as “really bad”.
Djokovic is currently embroiled in a final bid to avoid deportation over his anti-Covid-vaccine views, just a day before the Australian Open, where he would be aiming for a 10th title.
“Novak has reached out to me personally on IG (Instagram) saying ‘thank you for standing up for me’,” Kyrgios said on his ‘No Boundaries’ podcast.