Nick Kyrgios took a cheeky dig at his critics after tickets for his exhibition match against Novak Djokovic sold out in just 58 minutes. Last week in Adelaide, Djokovic revealed he and Kyrgios were in talks with Tennis Australia to organize an exhibition match before the Australian Open.
On Monday, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley confirmed Kyrgios and Djokovic would be playing against each other this Friday. After Tennis Australia launched the sale of tickets, they all sold in just 58 minutes.
All the money raised during the event will be donated to charity. “Wow Nick Kyrgios is bad for the sport! Wow what a disgrace, a national embarrassment! How dare he sell out another stadium, the arrogance,” Kyrgios tweeted.
Wow Nick Kyrgios is bad for the sport! Wow what a disgrace, a national embarrassment! How dare he sell out another stadium, the arrogance https://t.co/Sn37U2nAjv — Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 10, 2023
Kyrgios, Djokovic set to meet on Friday night
Describing the Kyrgios and Djokovic exhibition match, Tiley called it “extravaganza.” When Djokovic takes on Rod Laver Arena to play Kyrgios, it will mark his first appearance at Melbourne Park since the infamous Australia visa saga.
Last week, Djokovic received great support in Adelaide. But now he goes to Melbourne and many are curious to see how will the Melbourne crowd welcome him. Djokovic is a record nine-time Australian Open champion and Tiley believes the Melbourne crowd will have that in mind when the Serb takes on the court at Melbourne Park.
“He really enjoyed the experience in South Australia and he was welcomed, he loved it there. I love that our fans are sporting fans and are among the most educated and appreciate greatness. They appreciate players like Novak that have won this event nine times.
Novak is back and I’m pretty confident that the Melbourne fans – similar to the experience he had in Adelaide – will be just as good,” Tiley said. Meanwhile, Kyrgios will be playing his first match in 2023 when he takes on Djokovic in an exhibition match.
