All smiles as Djokovic and Kyrgios treat crowd to flashy shots in doubles win

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Exchanging smiles, laughs and flashy shots, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios teamed up in doubles on Monday as they both returned to the court in preparation for the Australian Open.

The two former Wimbledon final opponents reached the second round of the Brisbane International with a 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-8 win against Alexander Erler and Andreas Mies.

It was Kyrgios’ first match in 18 months due to wrist and knee injuries, while Djokovic missed the season-ending ATP Finals last month with an unspecified injury.

They had the crowd on their feet several times at Pat Rafter Arena, including when Djokovic flicked an around-the-net backhand winner during the first set. Djokovic then turned to point at a grinning Kyrgios, who slapped Djokovic’s outstretched hand in celebration.

“That’s just an iconic Novak moment. The way the guy moves around the court, I’ve never moved like that in my life. I was just loving it,” said Krygios, who treated the crowd to some shot-making of his own.

When Kygrios won another point following another extravagant shot — playing the ball between his legs, known as a tweener — he jogged proudly around the court with a grinning Djokovic chasing after him.

Then, after Kyrgios sealed the win with an ace, the pair jumped in the air to chest-bump each other.

“We tried to get the crowd on our side,” Djokovic said. “Get that energy and just use it for some good tennis.”

Kyrgios lost to Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon final, but the 29-year-old Australian had not played tennis since June 2023.

“This injury has been brutal for me so I wasn’t taking any of this for granted,” Kyrgios said afterward in a courtside interview. “I don’t know how many Aussie summers I’ve got left so I was just looking around and loving the energy and just so happy to be back out here.”

The 37-year-old Djokovic has won the Australian Open singles title a record 10 times and counts a men’s record 24 majors. He owns 99 singles titles overall but only one in doubles.

Kyrgios won the won the 2022 Australian Open doubles title alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis, and said the timing was right to team up with Djokovic in Brisbane before the Australian Open starts next month.

“We promised that we were going to do this one more time before either he goes or I go, so I’m glad we’re still alive,” Kyrgios said.

Djokovic quickly agreed to the idea.

“He said the other day that it should be a pleasure to play with him, and it is. I’m glad to share the court with him on his comeback,” Djokovic said. “I haven’t played that many doubles matches in my life.”

They were given a wild-card entry into the doubles tournament and next face top-seeded pair Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis