Novak Djokovic claims he could coach Nick Kyrgios to 'five Slams'

April 21, 2023

ATP Tennis Players, Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic, Tennis News

Novak Djokovic claims he could coach Nick Kyrgios to ‘five Slams’

Novak Djokovic has potentially given an indication as to what he might do post-retirement, revealing that he would ‘love’ to coach Nick Kyrgios.

Djokovic made a winning start to his family run tournament in Banja Luka beating Luca Van Assche, 6(4)-7 6-3 6-2, but the Serb admitted that ‘it wasn’t easy’.

“It wasn’t easy. This would probably rank as the slowest court, slowest conditions I’ve ever played in, to be honest,” said the ATP No.1.

Djokovic continued, “I couldn’t penetrate through the court. I couldn’t put any ball past him. He was on every single ball for a set and a half until I started to get some rhythm going. I’m happy with the way I finished the match. Of course, I can always play better, but a win is a win.”

In his post-match press conference Djokovic was also asked about which player on the tour he would most like to coach, to which he answered, “I would love to coach Nick Kyrgios.”

The 22-time major winner added with a smile on his face, “He would win five Slams with me, but it would not come cheap!”

Kyrgios, who is currently recovering from knee surgery, responded to this on Instagram seemingly trying to decline Djokovic’s offer.

“Hahahah… instead let’s go have a nice dinner and some drinks,” said Kyrgios.

Kyrgios' answer to Djokovic:
"Hahahah… Instead let's go have a nice dinner and some drinks"
Still the same 😭 pic.twitter.com/CEAH8yFggJ
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) April 21, 2023

Despite seeming to get on well these days, it has not always been this way for Kyrgios and Djokovic with the Aussie making some strong statements about the Serb back in 2019.

“I just feel like he [Djokovic] has a sick obsession with wanting to be liked. He just wants to be like Roger [Federer],” said Kyrgios.

Kyrgios continued, “For me personally – I don’t care right now, I’ve come this far – I feel like he just wants to be liked so much that I just can’t stand him. This whole celebration thing that he does after matches, it’s like so cringeworthy. It’s very cringeworthy.”

However, there seemed to be a turning point last year when Kyrgios admitted that he ‘felt sorry’ for Djokovic after he was deported from Australia due to his vaccination status.

Djokovic admitted that he was grateful for Kyrgios’s support at Wimbledon, where the pair played against each other in the final, “When I was going through the most difficult period, he was one of the rare few people who spoke on my behalf publicly. I am very grateful for that.”

Novak Djokovic vs Nick Kyrgios head-to-head

Djokovic claims that he could coach Kyrgios to five Grand Slam titles, but ironically he was the one who prevented the Aussie from winning his first at SW19 last year.

The 35-year-old’s seventh Wimbledon title win last year was in-fact the first time he had beaten Kyrgios.

Here is their head-to-head so far:

Novak Djokovic vs Nick Kyrgios: 1-2