"Novak Djokovic enjoys being the villain" - Nick Kyrgios makes bold claim about Serb's tumultuous relationship with crowd

Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios have shared a polarising relationship over the last 10 years. While one stands tall with 24 Grand Slam titles, the latter is still in search of his first, and the closest he came was in the 2022 Wimbledon Finals, where he was defeated by none other than Djokovic.

It won't be wrong to say that Kyrgios has witnessed Djokovic's career and his challenging relationship with fans. The duo in fact got together to feature in a doubles matchup at Brisbane International.

Kyrgios recently offered a candid outlook on Djokovic, saying that the Serbian has embraced the role of the sport’s “villain.”

"He’s way more comfortable in his own skin now," he said (via TNT Sports). "I think he did want the crowd to love him, but he enjoys being the villain. He finds energy when people heckle him. He’s the greatest tennis player of all time so he wouldn’t care as much what people think now.

"We have respect for each other and we are proof that different personalities can make it to the top and you don’t have to have everyone liking you."

Nick Kyrgios revisits the 2025 Wimbledon Finals with Novak Djokovic.

As previously mentioned, the last time Nick Kyrgios played in the Wimbledon Open, he reached the finals, where he endured a tough defeat against Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian defeated Kyrgios 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6 (7–3). Revisiting the final during the same interview, the Australian tennis player said:

"It was only a couple of points here and there where, if I’d acted a bit differently, I would have had a Wimbledon title."

However, Kyrgios takes no shame in losing to Djokovic, whom he considers "GOAT."

"But there’s no shame in losing to the greatest of all time," he added. "Do I think about it often? Yes. Do I think about what I could have changed? Yes. Could I have prepared better? No. I prepared amazingly."

In the 2025 Wimbledon Open, Kyrgios will once again miss the biggest major slam of the year for the third straight time. He is suffering from injuries to his knee, foot and wrist. He previously missed playing the French Open as well.