Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic non-winning pair: hello Brisbane

Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic non-winning pair

Bitter New Year for the pair of Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic. Despite leading 7-4 and then 8-6 in the super tiebreak, the'anti-Sinner and former world No. 1'failed to close out the match. Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus, making their debut as a pair this season, kept their composure and placed four consecutive points, also taking advantage of a double fault by the world number one, to secure the victory in the match valid for the Brisbane tournament.

In the first set, Kyrgios and Djokovic put up six aces against zero, but the statistics on serve made the difference. With the first serve they won only 67% of points against their opponents’ 87%, and just 20% with the second, compared to Mektic/Venus’ 75%. These numbers weighed especially in the second part of the set, where the “deciding point” favored Mektic and Venus twice in a row, proving decisive.

The second set saw Kyrgios and Djokovic forced to win to take the match to a super tiebreak. This time, the statistics turned around: they won 75% of the points with both first and second serves and did not concede any break balls to their opponents. Just thanks to a “deciding point”, which had been fatal to them in the first set, they snatched serve in the fourth game. Boosted also by the support of the crowd, the pair formed by the Australian and the Serb è managed to take the challenge to the super decisive tiebreak.

The super tiebreak è was a seesaw of emotions, with four minibreaks in the early exchanges highlighting the tension. Kyrgios and Djokovic seemed in control after breaking their opponents twice in a row, leading 7-4. However, a mini-break recovered by Mektic and Venus, a double fault by Djokovic and some misunderstandings at the net allowed the opponents to turn the tide. From 7-8, Mektic and Venus found an unexpected’energy, closing the super tiebreak with a score of 10-8 thanks to three consecutive points.