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Former World No. 17 Bernard Tomic has wished his fellow countryman Nick Kyrgios a speedy recovery from his latest knee injury.
Kyrgios was one of the favorites to win the 2023 Australian Open, but withdrew from the event at the last minute due to a knee injury. However, he recently underwent surgery to address the cyst issue on his knee and updated his fans on social media about his recovery progress.
In light of that, Bernard Tomic, who has been continuously at loggerheads with the 27-year-old in recent years, put his differences aside and wished Kyrgios a quick recovery. Taking to Instagram, Tomic sent the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up a positive message, hoping to see him back on the men's circuit soon.
"Despite our differences, we go way back. Wishing Nick Kyrgios a quick recovery, hope to see him back on the circuit soon," Bernard Tomic wrote on his Instagram story
Kyrgios acknowledged the good wishes and replied to Tomic's message, writing:
"Cheers bruh."
The duo never faced each other on the main tour, but squared off once at the 2019 Kooyong Classic exhibition event, where Tomic outplayed Kyrgios 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets.
Both players have never been on good terms at a personal level and rekindled their feud once again in March last year. Kyrgios responded to a fan who claimed Tomic was better than him, saying that Tomic should just "quiet down" and that he has had a bigger career overall than his compatriot.
“Better in what way? I’ve got a higher career high (ranking). More money, more wins and give back whenever I can. It’s time for BT to just quiet down. He ain’t even playing anymore. I got years left," Nick Kyrgios said
Responding to the Australian's messages, Tomic posted screenshots of his quotes on his Instagram story and voiced his opinion on the matter.
“The only logical explanation is that I’m his idol. He’s always been in my shadow growing up, that’s why anytime someone mentions my name to him, it gets under his skin, he knows he can’t rewrite history. The records that I set when I was 16, 17, 18, and 19, youngest slam quarter-finalist at Wimbledon (since Boris Becker), the biggest tournament in the world, he knows he can’t change that, he can’t rewrite that and he would love to shut me up if he could, he knows he can’t," Bernard Tomic said
At the moment, Tomic is ranked outside the top 450 in the world and Kyrgios is ranked inside the top 25. It'll be interesting to witness the outcome if the duo happen to face each other on the main tour in the future.
Nick Kyrgios eyeing a return to the men's tour in March
Nick Kyrgios has every plan of making a speedy return to the men's tour after undergoing successful knee surgery last week. The Australian would've been disappointed after hitting a roadblock at the start of the new 2023 season, but has promised to do whatever it takes to compete at the highest level again.
His manager Daniel Horsfall recently spoke in an interview, revealing that the 27-year-old player was targeting a March return to play at the Indian Wells Masters.
"The surgery was a great success. We couldn't have been more pleased with the outcome of it. We will now be pushing ahead for a speedy recovery and are aiming to see everyone at Indian Wells," Daniel Horsfall told the Melbourne Age newspaper.
