Nick Kyrgios will have trouble picking a winner when Novak Djokovic takes on Taylor Fritz in the Australian Open quarter-final, as his loyalties lie with both players. The 28-year-old famously has a bromance with Djokovic, previously revealing that the pair send each other memes almost every day. But Kyrgios has also been messaging Fritz to help the American out with his game, something that could come in handy against the world No. 1.
Djokovic and Fritz will face off for the ninth time on Tuesday, with the 26-year-old looking to get his first victory over the 24-time Grand Slam champion. Fritz famously forced a fifth set against the 36-year-old when they met in the third round in Melbourne back in 2021 but an injured Djokovic was able to come through that match and went on to lift the trophy.
The world No. 12 will now have a shot at revenge after advancing to the quarter-final with a statement victory against last year’s runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas. And he could well use the advice of Kyrgios in his quest to take down the tournament’s 10-time champion, as the Australian revealed that he had been sending Fritz some tips.
We go back and forth, I try to help him out as much as I can,” Kyrgios told Eurosport. “We message a lot on Instagram and I was trying to say you need to be able to come forward. Because he serves so big, because his groundstrokes are so big he needs to be able to come forward, put volleys away.
Although Fritz’s head-to-head against Djokovic remains one-sided, former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios believes that it could be a different story if the 26-year-old followed his advice and came to the net. The Australian added: “ He’s really struggled in that match-up against Novak in the past because he’s not really that comfortable to move forward but I think he’s improved that so it’s going to be an interesting one definitely.”
The two have a good relationship as Kyrgios gave an insight into Fritz’s life away from tennis. “Me and Taylor are actually really good mates, we have the same interests. He likes to keep pretty low key,” he explained.
“He plays a lot of games, like he’s a gamer so he just goes back to his room and plays some games and gets some rest.” But Kyrgios is also good friends with Djokovic. The pair formed a bromance two years ago when Kyrgios defended Djokovic during his Covid vaccine saga in Australia, which resulted in the world No. 1 getting deported.
And their friendship really blossomed when they faced off in the Wimbledon final later that year. It means that Fritz isn’t the only player Kyrgios enjoys messaging, as he recently admitted he spoke to the 24-time Major winner daily. “We had a rocky relationship at the start and a couple of things changed and now we literally speak nearly every day,” the seven-time title winner said last week.
We just talk about anything, we just send memes to each other. He hit an unbelievable volley the other day. I was like where do you even get these hands from? You didn’t have them against me at Wimbledon. And then he was like, I got it from you.”
It means that the quarter-final could be an awkward affair for Kyrgios, who will have to choose between his two friends on tour.
