Nick Kyrgios hypes Venus Williams Wimbledon mixed doubles run

WATCH: Venus Williams brings high energy to her first-round Wimbledon presser.

Nick Kyrgios is set to kick off a dream mixed doubles campaign with Venus Williams this weekend at Wimbledon, and the Aussie couldn’t be more excited.

“She's obviously a legend,” he said after his first-round singles win on Wednesday. “To see her still gracing the courts of Wimbledon, winning matches at 41. I don't think I'll be able to honestly hit another ball. She's a legend.”

Venus had previously called Kyrgios her “dream” doubles partner, and Kyrgios cheekily began the fortnight with an open call to join him on a mixed run, making way for the ultimate serendipity at SW19.

“I think we're both big servers. We're both really good returners,” Williams said after scoring her own singles win over Mihaela Buzarnescu. “We both can come up with shots. The intangibles are there. Hopefully it will mesh. Obviously we have to earn it.”

“We've been planning to play for a while now at Grand Slams,” Kyrgios said. “It just never worked out. I'm not sure how long she'll play for, so before she kind of gives it up, I do want to experience playing with one of the Williams sisters in mixed doubles. Honestly that's like a dream come true for me.

“They've been around for so, so long. I think it will be a bit of fun. I think we're a bit of a danger pair as well if we serve well. The crowd will definitely get behind us. She's a legend.”

The All England Club lawns have hosted its share of super teams in recent years, including Serena Williams and Andy Murray’s 2019 mixed doubles attempt (they reached the third round). This year the mixed draw also boasts the likes of Roland Garros runners-up Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev, who hope to be Olympic medal favorites in Tokyo.

I don't think she ever thought back in the day she'd be playing mixed doubles with the bad boy of tennis, so we'll see how it goes. Nick Kyrgios

Without that patriotic bend, Kyrgios muses the five-time Wimbledon champion can serve as something of a mentor for the former enfant terrible.

“Maybe she can teach me some of that calm, the water-type energy that's out there. I'm just going to go out there and have fun. She's an absolute legend of the sport. I'm super excited. I can tell she's excited, too.”

“Obviously if I have experience to share,” Venus says more seriously. “I'm always willing to do that with anyone who might ask me. That's always a given. I'm always open for that. This is not my goal this pairing. I'm hoping we just play well together.”

Kyrgios and Williams debuted on Friday afternoon with an epic 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win over Americans Austin Krajicek and Sabrina Santamaria. No. 4 seeds Édouard Roger-Vasselin and Nicole Melichar loom as their next opponents.

“I don't think she ever thought back in the day she'd be playing mixed doubles with the bad boy of tennis,” joked Kyrgios earlier in the week, “so we'll see how it goes.”