Nick Kyrgios sends stern warning to critics ahead of potential Novak Djokovic clash in Wimbledon 2023

A fortnight before the start of the third Grand Slam of the year, Carlos Alcaraz had cancelled himself out as a potential threat to Novak Djokovic’s bid to a record eighth Wimbledon title to back Nick Kyrgios to do the job. The Aussie had take a set of the Serb in the 2022 final before going down in the four-setter. But there were doubts over his participation in the 2023 edition of The Championships owing to a knee injury. Kyrgios has now come out with a sharp response to his doubters or critics as potential Djokovic rematch is on the cards at the SW19.

After a memorable 2022 as a singles player where he reached his maiden Slam final in Wimbledon before making the quarters in US Open, Kyrgios missed the entire first half of 2023. He first missed the United Cup with an ankle injury before withdrawing from Australian Open after cyst caused by a tear in his lateral meniscus which later required a arthroscopic surgery. In June second week he had returned in the Stuttgart Open, but had lost in his opener before pulling out of Mallorca Open.

Amid doubts that he could recreate that magic of 2023, Kyrgios sent out a stern message to his critics on Instagram. Sharing a picture of his arrival at the All England Club on Thursday, he captioned it: “some say I don’t fit in here……. I show them my resumé.”

Kyrgios will have a tough job at hand to recreate his feat at SW19 last year as he has been handed a tough draw. Seeded 32, the Australian will begin his campaign against 2022 quarterfinalist David Goffin before he could potentially run into Andrey Rublev in the third round and Halle Open winner Alexander Bublik.

Despite the lack of preparation, Kyrgios is unfazed of raised expectations after last year’s run.

“I think if anything it’s going to help me, the fact that I’ve already posted such a good result there and I know that Centre Court so well,” said Kyrgios, who holds a 20-8 record at the grass-court major. “I know what I need to do to be successful. I think all the pressure is off me, to be honest.

“I think that people always say once you have results, that’s when the pressure starts kicking in. But for me, it’s been the reverse my whole career. When I’ve won tournaments or when I’ve done really well, it’s almost the opposite. It’s almost like you’ve proven yourself and now you can actually just relax and have some fun with it.”