Novak Djokovic made a damning claim about former on court rival Nick Kyrgios at the US Open.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion battled past Taylor Fritz and a partisan American crowd on the Arthur Ashe Stadium to book his place in another semi-final. The Serb will face Carlos Alcaraz, who continued his impressive form with a convincing straight sets victory over Jiri Lehecka.
Their meeting will renew a rivalry that was ignited in the 2023 Wimbledon final, where the Spaniard famously defeated the Serb. But before Friday's clash, Djokovic turned attention to his relationship with one of the most controversial figures in tennis, Kyrgios.
The pair, who used to have a troubled relationship, have developed a friendship over the past couple of years. They even teamed up to play doubles at the Brisbane International in December 2024.
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Despite their blossoming friendship, Djokovic did not hold back when he reflected on the Australian's attitude. Djokovic said: “Nick, unfortunately, never had the discipline that was needed.
"If he had 30 percent of the discipline required – and he has about five percent – he’d be Top 10 easily.”
Kyrgios has hardly played this year and last played a competitive singles game back in March at the ATP Masters 1000 Miami. Last year, he worked as part of the BBC's commentary at Wimbledon but he was axed from this year’s coverage.
He strongly criticised the decision, believing his experience at SW19, where he was a beaten finalist to Djokovic in 2022, meant he had valuable insight for tennis fans.
Djokovic also gave an insight into Kyrgios' behaviour away from the court, suggesting the Australian's social life can take priority.
He said: “He sent me a video once. He loves sending me clips from nightclubs, bars, I didn’t even reply to the last one! He always says: ‘Why do I keep running into Serbs everywhere in the world?’
"He’ll go to a party, bump into one of ours, they’ll say: ‘Nick, you Serb!’ Then they hug, drink, and he sends me the videos.”
Kyrgios has won seven ATP Tour singles titles in his career and remains a hugely entertaining character on the Tour. He is also only the third man to have beaten each one of the big three, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, in his first match against them.
Back in 2016, Kyrgios rose to his career-high singles ranking of 13, while he also reached 11 during his doubles career.
Topics: Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic, Tennis, US Open
James Taylor