Tennis fans left fuming over news about Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic

Tennis fans have expressed their disappointment after Novak Djokovic withdrew from a highly-anticipated showdown with Nick Kyrgios at the World Tennis League in Dubai on Thursday. In what was supposed to be a rematch of the Wimbledon final from July, Kyrgios was scheduled to take on Djokovic in the exhibition team event.

However Djokovic withdrew from the match at the last minute, with Grigor Dimitrov taking his place for Team Falcons against Kyrgios' Team Eagles. A statement from the World Tennis League said: "Djokovic announced he won't be partaking in the WTL tonight due to not feeling 100% well enough to play. Team Falcons will continue to play v Team Eagles, and we look forward to Novak’s return to centre court."

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Dimitrov went on to beat Kyrgios 7-6 (5) 6-3 in a major upset, filling in for Djokovic and not missing a beat. However tennis fans were left fuming that they didn't get to see a rematch between Djokovic and Kyrgios.

Djokovic beat Kyrgios in four sets in the Wimbledon final in July, claiming his 21st grand slam singles title and denying the Australian star his first. Fans pointed out that Djokovic had been dancing around and looked fine during previous matches on Thursday, while others said they'd only bought tickets to the event to see the Serbian star.

Nick Kyrgios hoping to retire after winning slam

Speaking before the event, Kyrgios had expressed his eagerness to get a crack at Djokovic again after going down in the final at the All England Club. The World No.22 also opened up about his future in tennis, admitting his ideal scenario would be to win a grand slam in 2023 and walk away from professional tennis.

“Hopefully I can win a slam and just retire," he said with a laugh. "Would I sign again? Honestly, I don't know about it.

"It took a lot of hard work this season, a lot of discipline and it seems the better you do, everyone wants a bit more of you and it becomes more stressful. But I had a lot of fun this season. And I’m finally just proud to say I made a slam final and started to meet some expectations. I had a lot of fun, I enjoyed it, definitely felt better off and on the court."

Kyrgios enjoyed the best year of his controversial career in 2022, winning the Australian Open doubles title and making the quarter-finals at the US Open. His 37-10 win-loss record was the fourth-best strike rate on the ATP tour behind Carlos Alcaraz, Rafa Nadal and Djokovic.

“I’m a massive fan of the team environment, I think it’s pretty cool," Kyrgios said about the World Tennis League format. "It’s a good experience for the fans and the players, not many events where I can be seen next to Rohan Bopanna and Bianca Andreescu, so it’s pretty cool, it gives tennis a bit of a different dynamic.

Kyrgios said he was grateful to be able to have some of his family cheering him on in Dubai. "Obviously coming from Australia I don’t have (family) with me often and I’m not going to spend Christmas in Australia, so they decided to come here and just spend a couple days here and enjoy it," he said. "We’re doing a couple things and my nephew is here, so it’s pretty exciting times."

Kyrgios will return to the national fold at the new United Cup, starting on December 29, which will see the world's best male and female players team up in a mixed gender tournament. It will mark the first time Kyrgios plays for Australia in a team event since 2019 following his controversial hiatus from the Davis Cup. He will then head to Adelaide to ramp up his Australian Open preparations, with another showdown with Djokovic a possibility at both events.

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