Nick Kyrgios has highlighted that going at Novak Djokovic is never a good idea because good things don’t happen after you decide to poke the bear.
On Wednesday, record 10-time Australian Open champion Djokovic got very annoyed with one heckler and confronted him midway through the fourth set of his match against Alexei Popyrin. Tied to two games apiece in the fourth set with Popyrin, an annoyed Djokovic lashed out at a heckler, inviting him to come down to the court and tell him in the face what he had said from the stands.
The heckler backed down after Djokovic’s outburst, while the Serb won 10 of the next 12 points against Popyrin to win three games in a row and open a 5-2 lead. During his run, Djokovic was celebrating very passionately and it was clear that the world No. 1 was trying to make a statement.
“I don’t want to see Novak blowing the ball off and having this antics. You don’t want to poke the bear. Has he not heard about the analogy ‘don’t poke the bear?'” Kyrgios said on air while commentating the match for Eurosport.
Novak Djokovic© Getty Images Sport – Daniel Pockett
The match ended with Djokovic completing a 6-3 4-6 7-6 (4) 6-3 win over Popyrin.
Addressing his commentary on X, Kyrgios highlighted: “DON’T POKE THE BEAR GUYS.”
DONT POKE THE BEAR GUYS https://t.co/yc7qDQOnz5
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 17, 2024
Kyrgios had Djokovic’s back
As Djokovic was unloading at a heckler, Kyrgios used the word “jerk” to describe the person from the stands. After the match, Kyrgios told Djokovic he had his back in case something happened.
“When he was heckling you, Novak, I told everyone from the commentary box worldwide ‘if you want me to jump into the crowd and sort him out, I’ve got your back 100 percent, bro,'” Kyrgios told Djokovic.
Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic© Getty Images Sport – Kelly Defina
Djokovic had a good laugh after Kyrgios’ revelation and told the Australian: “I’ll keep that in mind — thanks, Kygs.”
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