Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios put aside their long-running feud to post a victory in doubles action at the Brisbane International on Monday in Australia.
The pair defeated Alexander Earler of Austria and Germany’s Andreas Mies 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-8 at the ATP 250 event. The match was Kyrgios’ first in 18 months due to a wrist injury.
“That was awesome,” said Djokovic, a 24-time major champion. “I want to thank Nick for playing. He said it should be a pleasure to play with him, it was a pleasure. I’m glad to share the court with him on his comeback.”
The relationship between the two has thawed the past couple of years. Kyrgios, an Australian, once called Djokovic “boneheaded” and a “tool.”
The pair served up eight aces in the match, which lasted 1 hour and 47 minutes.
“For me, I’m just looking around at all the fans and this beautiful stadium. … This injury has been brutal for me, so I wasn’t taking any of this for granted,” Kyrgios said. “I don’t know how many Aussie summers I’ve got left, so I’m just looking around and loving the energy, and just so happy to be back out here. (Novak and I) promised we would do this one time, before either he goes or I go, so I’m glad we are still alive.”
Djokovic and Kyrgios were a wild-card entry into the doubles tournament and next face top-seeded pair Nikola Mektic of Croatia and Michael Venus of New Zealand.
–Field Level Media
