Novak Djokovic thanked Kyrgios for his support - "I like that he is different"

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic said that he is grateful to his Australian colleague Nick Kyrgios, who was the only one who supported him at the beginning of the year when he was going through difficult times in Australia, from which he was eventually deported.

The atmosphere at the match between Kyrgios and the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round of Wimbledon was seen as bordering on unsportsmanlike, and Novak spoke on that topic.

Djokovic said that such situations are often seen with Kyrgios on the court. “He attracts a group of young people who like and follow him because he's different. And I don't think that's bad for our sport. Maybe in some situations, his comments on and off the field are debatable, but that's authentic Kyrgios, and I respect that”

The Serbian ace is grateful for the support of the Australian who came to his defence when it was most difficult for him.

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He then referred to the behavior of Stefanos Tsitsipas, who sent a ball into the audience with all his might.

A similar situation happened to the Serbian tennis player at the US Open two years ago, when he hit the assistant referee and was eliminated from the tournament.

"What happened to me at the US Open almost happened to Tsitsipas. He was lucky not to hit anyone directly in the audience, although the ball bounced off the wall and then hit someone in the audience because he hit it pretty hard. I've had that situation in the past and I know how frustrating it is on the field. On the other hand, I am also ashamed and repent when I make such a mistake and apologize to the tennis world because I know that such behavior is not appropriate. I hope that Tsitsipas himself realizes that it was a mistake and that he was very lucky, risking that he was in a situation of injuring someone and being disqualified from the match," he explained.

Djokovic will play in the Wimbledon quarterfinals tomorrow against the 13th seed, Jannik Sinner from Italy. In case of triumph, Novak's opponent in the semi-finals will be the winner of the match between Cameron Norrie and the Belgian David Goffin.