‘Kyrgios good guy even if no respect for me’

BELGRADE, Serbia: Novak Djokovic on Wednesday shrugged off Nick Kyrgios’s characterisation of him as “cringeworthy” and “having an obsession with wanting to be liked” by insisting the firebrand Australian is a “good guy”.

Kyrgios, more often in the headlines for what he says off the court than what he achieves on it, described world number one Djokovic as desperate to be held in the same high esteem as Roger Federer.

“I feel he wants to be liked so much that I just can’t stand him. This celebration thing (Djokovic’s ‘cup of love’ gesture to the crowd) is so cringeworthy,” Kyrgios told NCR Tennis Podcast.

“No matter how many Grand Slams he wins, he will never be the greatest to me.

“For me, Federer will always be the greatest of all time.”

Djokovic, however, said Kyrgios’s remarks “don’t keep him awake at night”.

“I think that basically he is a good guy. I don’t know why he said all those things. Does he want to attract attention, does he want to be different?” Djokovic told reporters in Belgrade ahead of defending his Wimbledon title next month.

“He wants apparently to be true, open, transparent, that is part of his character.

“I respect him. Does he show me respect to the extent that others do? No, he does not. That’s just his way of communicating.”