Nick Kyrgios to Andy Murray: "You are better than Novak Djokovic"
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray caught up with mercurial Australian Nick Kyrgios in a video chat on Instagram. And as expected there were plenty of tongue-in-cheek comments from both, leading to an avalanche of responses from the fans.
Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios have been good friends for a while, and they have often been spotted hanging out together when they are away from tournaments. Their camaraderie was clearly visible in the Instagram live too, as they kept prompting headline-worthy comments from each other.
What did Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios chat about?
The two talked about a range of subjects, but the high point was probably when the conversation shifted to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Kyrgios, who has sipping red wine at his Canberra home, said to Murray:
"I think you should have one of the best careers ever. I think you are better than Novak Djokovic.
"Djokovic was playing dodgeball on my serve and you were slapping it for a winner. He was trying to dodge it, you were on it like a light."
A modest Murray responded by saying: "The results would suggest otherwise."
During their short video interaction, Andy Murray was asked a slew of questions by Kyrgios. The first question was about how Murray was feeling now and what he thought about a new comeback after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Murray replied that he had been feeling good during his first comeback last year, particularly in the Davis Cup, before injury struck again. He is hopeful of a successful comeback after things normalize and the tour resumes.
"I was doing well before the injury and at the Davis Cup. Once things get back to normal, I think I'll be alright."
Kyrgios' next was about the prospect of Murray playing doubles with the Australian. But he couldn't resist throwing a couple of barbs in the direction of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, suggesting that Murray was more of a common man's hero than those two.
"Would you play doubles? Play for the crowd a little bit? Muzz, you are a living legend. Give the crowd what they want. I don't know about Federer and Djokovic's fans. But ordinary people love you. We love you dude."
A smiling Murray said that the duo can tee up once together:
"Let's tee up once together. But on that, you promise me that you'll behave."
Kyrgios replied: "I'm behaving. I'm promising on Instagram live that I'm behaving."
At this point both players made a mention of the number of people watching the interaction. Murray noted that a lot of people were asking whether Kyrgios was drunk. The Australian replied that he was sober, repeating "I'm not (drunk) thrice.":
"No man, I'm not drunk. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not."
Kyrgios then decided to give an 'insight' to the fans about an incident at the Madrid Masters.
"Once we were in Madrid. There was a locker room for the Top-16 seeds. Muzz (Murray) at that time was may be two or three. I, maybe, scrapped in at 15 or 16. Everyone in the locker room wanted to listen when we talked. Two voices that would be heard at a decent level."
Murray replied that Kyrgios at that time was playing a game on the former's computer. The Australian ended the conversation with a chuckle:
"Every time we talked, it was gossip for the entire locker room. The reason was simple. We were both doing what we do best."