Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios gave Australian Open fans a pre-tournament treat on Friday in Melbourne, as 15,000 packed into Rod Laver Arena for their “arena showdown”.
And the nine-time Australian Open champion turned to a member of the crowd for some advice to help him in the second set before “firing” coach Goran Ivanisevic.
Djokovic walked to the baseline and asked a spectator for some help, then pretending to fire Ivanisevic in the middle of the match.
“Yeah, I lost my job in front of 15,000 people,” Ivanisevic joked the Croat said when asked about the incident.
The charity match went to a match tiebreak where wheelchair stars David Wagner and Heath Davidson joined the two men on court and turned the clash into a doubles match.
And they were later subbed out by two youngsers as Kyrgios and his partner saved three match points to win 4-2, 2-4, 10-9.
“It just feels great to be back in Australia, back in Melbourne,” Djokovic said.
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