“Brother, you’re the GOAT”: Nick Kyrgios salutes Novak Djokovic after Brisbane doubles win

Nick Kyrgios made a winning return to action after a lengthy injury lay-off on Monday, forming an instantly iconic partnership with Novak Djokovic to win a men’s doubles match at the Brisbane International, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-8.

“I haven’t played that many doubles matches in my life, particularly in the last five years,” Djokovic said after the match. “So, whatever Nick was saying, I was following, actually!”

A former Grand Slam champion in doubles, Kyrgios was effusive in his praise of Djokovic, who was making his own return, having shut down his 2024 season after the Rolex Shanghai Masters in October.

“I was actually surprised that he doubted himself a little bit in some moments,” Kyrgios exclaimed during their shared on-court interview. “I was like, ‘Brother, you’re the greatest of all time. Go for it; do what you want to do!’”

I was actually surprised that he doubted himself a little bit in some moments. I was like, "Brother, you’re the greatest of all time. Go for it; do what you want to do!" Nick Kyrgios on Novak Djokovic

Kyrgios was last on court in 2023, dealing with a “brutal” knee injury that kept him from following up a breakthrough 2022, one in which he partnered Thanasi Kokkinakis to win the Australian Open and reach his first major singles final at Wimbledon, where he lost to Djokovic in four entertaining sets.

“I wasn’t taking any of this for granted,” Kyrgios said. “I don’t know how many Aussie summers I’ve got left. I was just looking around and loving the energy, happy to be back out here. We promised we were going to do this one time before either he goes or I go. So, I’m glad we’re still alive.”

In a match that featured its share of hot shots and epic points, Djokovic and Kyrgios made a strong start against Erler and Mies, two doubles specialists, and shook off losing a second-set tiebreaker to ultimately emerge victorious in a match tiebreaker and book an intriguing quarterfinal clash against top seeds Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus.

“Everyone’s in here wanting me to do underarms. I’m trying to be professional, so I don’t know which Nick Kyrgios do you want?” Kyrgios joked on court. “Do you want the one that’s going to break racquets and do tweeners or do you want to focus and get a win? I tried to find that balance tonight as much as I could.”

“The highlight of this interview so far is, ‘I’m trying to be professional,’” teased Djokovic in response.

The two will also make their 2025 debuts in singles this week, Djokovic against Aussie RInky Hijikata and Kyrgios against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

I ended my [2024] season quite early. I just wanted to get my things together, physically recover and work really on perfecting my game as much as I can. There’s a lot of great, quick, dynamic, powerful players nowadays, youngsters I have to keep up with. Novak Djokovic

“I feel great,” said Djokovic, who won a long-awaited Olympic gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games last year in Paris. “I cannot ask for a better start to the season, sharing the court with Nick for the first time, winning the match, getting a little bit of a feel for the court.

“I’m going to play tomorrow late, so I obviously look forward. Doubles, singles, it’ll be a completely different match. I’ll have to do much more running, but I’m ready for it. I played my last competitive tournament a few months ago and ended my season quite early. I just wanted to get my things together, physically recover and work really on perfecting my game as much as I can.

“There’s a lot of great, quick, dynamic, powerful players nowadays, youngsters I have to keep up with. Hopefully Nick can stay healthy because with his game, he can beat anyone on any surface. It’s great and exciting news for all the tennis world, seeing him back on the court. Hopefully this is a great start to the season for both of us and we can keep it going in singles.”