Novak Djokovic pulls out of highly-anticipated Nick Kyrgios rematch at 11th hour | Tennis | Sport

Novak Djokovic was forced to pull out of his World Tennis League clash with Nick Kyrgios at the last minute on Wednesday night. The on-court announcer shared the news with fans in the stadium and watching online, revealing that the Serb wasn’t feeling his best, with Djokovic’s Falcons teammate Grigor Dimitrov stepping in to replace him and take on the Aussie. It comes after Djokovic lost his opening match in Dubai to Alexander Zverev on Tuesday.

Djokovic and Kyrgios were set to face off in arguably the most highly-anticipated match of this week’s brand-new team tournament in Dubai on Wednesday. It was set to be a rematch of their Wimbledon final earlier this year in what was going to be their first meeting since the world No 5 downed the Aussie in four sets to win his 21st Major title, but fans were stunned when it was suddenly announced that the Serb had pulled out.

“Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately Novak Djokovic doesn’t feel 100 per cent fit to play this evening,” the on-court emcee said following the conclusion of the women’s singles match. “But because he loves his fans and his team, he’s been here tonight as you’ve seen out on court.”

The 35-year-old had been on the team Falcons bench all evening, cheering on his fellow players during both the mixed doubles and women’s singles match, and even being seen chatting to Kyrgios ahead of what was set to be their Wimbledon final rematch. But he will no longer be present on the team bench for the evening, and is set to return on Friday for the Falcons meeting with the Kites, where he is scheduled to play Felix Auger-Aliassime.

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