Todd Woodbridge says Novak Djokovic is relishing “getting into” Nick Kyrgios’ head with some sneaky mind games before next week’s Australian Open in Melbourne.
Tennis great Woodbridge spoke to Nine’s Today about his exclusive interview with Djokovic and revealed that the Serbian superstar did not mention Kyrgios amongst his biggest rivals for the grand slam tournament.
“I asked him about who he thinks the contenders are, and he went through (Rafael) Nadal and (Jannik) Sinner and (Casper) Ruud and I said ‘no Kyrgios?’
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“He just smiled and said ‘of course there’s Nick Kyrgios.’
“Then he moved on and he said ‘I hope he’s ready, he hasn’t had a great preparation.’
“And he laid a few things out for Nick to think about. He likes getting into his head.”
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Djokovic will play Kyrgios in a blockbuster exhibition match on Rod Laver Arena on Friday night and Woodbridge said there were no concerns over the former’s hamstring.
Djokovic played just one set against Daniil Medvedev in a practice match on Wednesday but Woodbridge called his withdrawal purely “precautionary.”
“From what he said to me, he’s good to go,” the doubles legend said.
Woodbridge added that he expected the Australian Open fans to be largely supportive of Djokovic, who was sensationally deported before last year’s tournament because he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID-19.
“There will be some outliers that are going to try to make a name for themselves but they’re not really welcome,” Woodbridge said.
“Everybody else wants to see him play his best tennis. He’s playing superb.
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“He has a point to prove in the sense that he is chasing down Rafa (for most grand slam titles). Because he didn’t get down here last year, Rafa won the tournament, got in front of him. He pulled it back at Wimbledon (by beating Kyrgios in the final).
“That’s what this is about. Nadal is very much in his mind.”
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