Did Novak Djokovic just reignite his feud with Nick Kyrgios? His subtle swipe
Novak Djokovic has kept a cool head as he’s ignored Nick Kyrgios’ podcast taunts. However, as Wimbledon is now over, it appears all bets are off.
The back-to-back Wimbledon champion has shown a hint of his true feelings towards the Australian tennis player.
Vocal tennis legend John McEnroe was quoted from a BBC Radio interview, where he declared that Kyrgios would be a top five player on the planet if he was able to keep his efforts consistent and honest.
“Is he good for the game? Yes he’s good for the game,” McEnroe told BBC Radio 5.
“Does he sell tickets? Yes. I can’t handle the fact that he only tries half the time. We can’t support that anymore. I don’t think he should be out there anymore unless he gives an honest effort — that’s my personal opinion.
“The guy would be top five in the world for sure if he was able to do it [give honest effort]. He’s got an incredible – this is my opinion – fear of failure. He doesn’t even allow himself to train hard enough to give himself a chance.
“You saw what he is capable of, he was driving Nadal crazy, it was the best second-round match, one of the best matches of the whole tournament. But when he plays guys he’s supposed to beat, he doesn’t even show up.”
UK tennis site tennissportwalkin republished his comments on their Instagram and Djokovic liked the post.
It’s doubtful that Kyrgios noticed, let alone let the subtle aggression bother him, as he’s made his feelings about Djokovic well known.
He told well-known tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg earlier this year that Djokovic “just wants to be liked.”
“I just feel like he has a sick obsession with wanting to be liked,” Kyrgios told the No Challenges Remaining Podcast.
“He just wants to be like Roger. For me personally — I don’t care right now, I’ve come this far — I feel like he just wants to be liked so much that I just can’t stand him.”