Novak Djokovic landed in Australia on Saturday for his surprise doubles match with Nick Kyrgios at the Brisbane International.
The Serbian professional tennis player, 37, plans to play doubles with the Australian athlete, 29, in the Queensland tournament, which begins on December 29.
And he looked ready for the challenge as he disembarked at Brisbane International Airport on Saturday morning after his long-haul flight.
Djokovic cut an athletic figure in a beige tracksuit set, consisting of a polo-style sweater and matching sweatpants, to stay comfortable on his travels.
She finished her casual look with a pair of white sneakers and carried her essentials in a gray backpack and red suitcase.
Djokovic, who beat Kyrgios in the 2022 Wimbledon singles final, smiled as he walked among the arrivals looking energized and ready for the Brisbane International.
Novak Djokovic landed in Australia on Saturday for his surprise doubles match with Nick Kyrgios at the Brisbane International.
The Serbian professional tennis player, 37, plans to play doubles with the Australian athlete, 29, in the Queensland tournament, which starts on December 29
He looked ready for the challenge as he stepped off Brisbane International Airport on Saturday morning after his long-haul flight to Australia.
The tennis legend will partner Australian native Kyrgios as he returns to the tournament for the first time since 2009 in a historic feat.
It will also be a big occasion for Kyrgios as he returns to the tennis tournament for the first time in 18 months after being sidelined by career-threatening injuries.
In addition to their doubles match, both will also compete in the singles tournament, but they are not scheduled to face each other until the semifinals, if both qualify.
The pair will use the event as a warm-up for next month’s Australian Open, with Kyrgios using an injury-protected qualification to secure a direct entry into Melbourne Park.
Once bitter rivals but now firm friends, the news that Kyrgios and Djokovic would team up for the doubles tournament came as a surprise to many tennis fans.
Kyrgios shared the news on Instagram by posting a photo of him and Djokovic walking in their 2022 Wimbledon final along with the words: “Doubles in Brisbane.” See you all there.’
They recently hinted at their on-court collaboration when Djokovic told Kygrios during a recent interview that they needed to play doubles before he retired.
“You have to promise me something… recover quickly, get back on tour before I retire and we have to play doubles,” Djokoivc told the Canberra ace.
Djokovic cut an athletic figure in a beige tracksuit set, consisting of a polo-style sweater and matching sweatpants, to stay comfortable on his travels.
She completed her casual look with a pair of white sneakers and carried her essentials in a gray backpack and a red suitcase.
Djokovic, who beat Kyrgios in the 2022 Wimbledon singles final, smiled as he strolled among the arrivals looking energized and ready for the Brisbane international tournament.
Djokovic graciously took time to take selfies with fans as they enthusiastically greeted the tennis legend at the airport.
Djokovic also took questions from the media ahead of his long-awaited return to the Brisbane International.
The tennis legend will partner Australian native Kyrgios as he returns to the tournament for the first time since 2009 in a historic feat.
In addition to their doubles match, both will also compete in the singles tournament, but they are not scheduled to face each other until the semifinals, if both qualify through
Kyrgios has only played one ATP match since the 2022 US Open quarterfinals due to career-threatening wrist and knee injuries that required three rounds of surgery.
He recently revealed that a pep talk from 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic had helped fuel his comeback, and he credited the former number one for motivating him.
He said he considered quitting tennis when his wrist was slow to heal from surgery, but the Serbian record-setter encouraged him to continue when they met at Wimbledon this year.
Kyrgios shared: “I was fighting Novak and when he said to me, ‘It doesn’t look like you’ve had surgery,’ and that was a big motivation to say maybe I’m actually making some progress and some progress to come back because I didn’t really know.
“That was a big boost for me…so if he hadn’t said that, I don’t know if I would have been motivated and if I would have kept pushing that thought, but it was definitely a big part of it.” from the trip when he told me that.