The Serbia Open organizers are negotiating to bring in Nick Kyrgios to next year’s Serbia Open, according to Sasa Ozmo of Sport Klub. Over the last two years, Belgrade hosted three clay ATP 250 events. Kyrgios, who played Novak Djokovic in this year’s Wimbledon final, hinted he plans to compete at the Serbia Open next year.
“Novak and I are gonna have a rematch next year in his hometown. No one is ready for this,” Kyrgios wrote on his Instagram Story. In late October, the Serbia Open organizers announced next year’s tournament edition would take place in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Nothing confirmed yet, but Serbia Open organizers are indeed in negotiations over Nick Kyrgios’ participation at the Serbia Open,” Ozmo tweeted.
Nothing confirmed yet, but Serbia Open organizers are indeed in negotiations over @NickKyrgios participation at the Serbia Open.
Someone should tell Nick, though, that next year it is being played in Banja Luka, not Belgrade 😂 pic.twitter.com/gsokhFe01t — Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) November 7, 2022
Could Kyrgios, Djokovic meet in Banja Luka?
The Serbia Open organizers are planning to use the next year to improve their tennis facility in Belgrade so they can apply to host an ATP 500 event.
“Banja Luka was our choice for this relocation period for several reasons. The main one is that there is an outstanding tennis center with nine courts, three of which will have stands. The existing capacity of the central stadium will be increased to 6,000 seats, while the court number two will have 1,500 seats, and Court 3 will have 700.
We will also create a fan zone in the park with various contents. I know that the audience’s interest is huge, Banja Luka loves Novak, and everyone wants to see top tennis players live. That’s why I think the tournament in Banja Luka will be even more visited than Belgrade this year, which broke the attendance record with 49,000 tickets sold,” Djordje Djokovic said in late October.
For many years now, Banja Luka has been hosting a clay Challenger tournament. “The ATP accepted Banja Luka as an option, because that city has hosted the Challenger for 20 years. They are a well-known destination for tennis players, many quality players have played there, they were always warmly welcomed, and I believe that the tournament will really be a great success,” Djordje Djokovic added. Also, Djordje Djokovic confirmed that Novak’s intention is to play at the tournament next year.
