Nine-time Australian Open and 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios will meet in an exciting practice match ahead of the Australian Open 2023, the organisers of the tournament announced on Monday.
21-time Grand Slam champion and biggest local hope will face off for the first time since their epic Wimbledon final at Rod Laver Arena.
Fresh from his win at the Adelaide International, Djokovic will fine-tune his preparation for a record 10th Australian Open crown against Kyrgios in the finale of the Australian Open's Perfect Practice series, taking place at Rod Laver Arena each afternoon from Monday 9 to Friday 13 January.
Perfect Practice will be played under match conditions, with umpires, ballkids and electronic line calling.
Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari, Jessica Pegula, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev and more are all looking forward to hitting Rod Laver Arena to play under match conditions before the Australian Open main draw starts on Monday 16 January.
Earlier in the day, tournament director Craig Tiley on Monday. Players at this month's Australian Open will not be required to take COVID-19 tests and will be allowed to compete even if they have the virus,
The health policy, which Tiley said reflected what was going on in the larger community, is a significant departure from the strict protocols that have surrounded the tournament for the past two years.
Earlier on Sunday, saving a match point to defeat American Sebastian Korda on Sunday night, Novak Djokovic pulled off a spectacular comeback to win the Adelaide International title.
The top seed had been unbeatable all week, but in the first two sets, the Serbian seemed a little off-colour before securing a 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over the 22-year-old.
( With inputs from ANI )
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