"I was getting f*****g millions of hate messages when I went out and initially stood up for Novak Djokovic" - Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios has revealed that he received "millions of hate messages" once he began publicly extending his support to Novak Djokovic during the Serb's ongoing visa fiasco. Kyrgios further revealed that the Serb personally thanked him on Instagram for standing up for him during the period.
Kyrgios has been one of Djokovic's biggest critics in recent years but has surprisingly thrown his weight behind the World No. 1, who has had a turbulent few weeks in Melbourne.
The Aussie was one of the first big names to speak up for the 20-time Major champion while he was being criticized for his vaccine beliefs, reminding people of how the Serb helped Australia during their bushfire crisis. He has also repeatedly stressed that Djokovic should be treated with more empathy as he is going through an extremely tough time in Melbourne.
Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast, the 26-year-old revealed that his gestures did not go unnoticed by Djokovic, who expressed his gratitude to the Australian on Instagram.
"For people who don't know - Novak has reached out to me personally over Instagram, saying "thank you for standing up for me." I was not the one that he was expecting to go out in the media and have his back," Nick Kyrgios said.
Kyrgios also revealed that fans began sending him "hate messages" once he began voicing his support for the World No. 1.
"Someone could say something nice about him and then not even be aired. Like that's how the media works, they just want to like make things such a s***storm," Kyrgios continued.
"And I spoke to you guys, I've been getting messages, obviously when I went out and initially stood up for the guy - I was getting f*****g millions of hate messages or people saying "how could you be standing up for him, I couldn't even come into the country to see my family."
Nick Kyrgios describing how media treats Novak https://t.co/ucc6RNJ8QF
Novak reached out to Nick personally on Instagram and thanked him for his support 👏 https://t.co/Iygv6sqUfH
The Aussie firmly believes Djokovic must be treated better given he is "human."
"That's what I mean like, as a human he’s obviously feeling quite alienated in all of this," Kyrgios added. "As a human, that’s a dangerous place to be in - when you feel like the world is against you, like you can’t do anything right."
The Aussie, who also lashed out at Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas for not standing up for Djokovic, believes more players should express their support towards the defending Australian Open champion.
"And all he wants is to come and play tennis. On a human level, he needs support from other players," Kyrgios added. "Tsitispas, I get you have your views on vaccination. Murray, we can always count to say the right thing, Nadal whatever... But bro, where is your support for the guy?"
"We're treating Novak Djokovic like he's a weapon of mass destruction at the moment" - Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios, voice of reason 👏 https://t.co/K3HeTnOQai
Australia's Immigration Minister Alex Hawke canceled Novak Djokovic's visa for a second time on the grounds that the Serb's presence could fuel anti-vaccine sentiment.
Hawke also pointed out that the World No. 1 could cause "civil unrest," which in turn could lead to further community transmission of COVID-19.
“I consider that Mr Djokovic’s ongoing presence in Australia may lead to an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment generated in the Australian community, potentially leading to an increase in civil unrest of the kind previously experienced in Australia with rallies and protests which may themselves be a source of community transmission," Alex Hawke stated.
Nick Kyrgios hit out at Hawke for his comments, stating that Djokovic is far from being a threat to society.
"This Hawke guy is like he's a threat to our borders and I'm like woah, no he's not," Kyrgios said. "We're treating him like he's a weapon of mass destruction at the moment. He's literally here to play tennis."
While acknowledging the hardships faced by his compatriots during the pandemic, Kyrgios pointed out that Djokovic did everything he was told to do in order to enter Australia.
"The mistreating of the people of Melbourne over the last two years has been atrocious and I feel like - I understand their anger towards him being not vaccinated and having the medical exemption," Kyrgios said. "I understand that side but at face value, you just say "okay he's done what he's needed to do, he got the paperwork he's okay to be here."
"Now I feel like people are just literally - all their anger no matter what Novak does or for what reason he's back in court - they're just gonna say "get him out of our country". He's not doing anything to anyone," he added. "He just wants to come here and play the Australian Open and I think its very important for him to be here and play the AO."