Kyrgios has previously admitted to not liking Djokovic "at all," and has been extremely critical of his behaviour throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Getty/Carmen Mandato
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has jumped to the defence of his bitter rival Novak Djokovic, calling his country's handling of the world number one's visa dispute "really bad."
Djokovic is currently residing in a hotel in Melbourne alongside a number of asylum seekers and refugees waiting to be processed after his entry to Australia was denied on Wednesday.
The Serbian had travelled to Australia after he had been given a medical exemption which he believed would allow him to compete in this month's Australian Open without a COVID-19 vaccine.
He was stopped at the border, however, due to an issue with his visa that meant that his medical exemption was not sufficient for him to enter the country.
His treatment has now been criticized by world number 93 Kyrgios, a man who once publicly said that he does not like the Serbian star "at all."
"Look I definitely believe in taking action," Kyrgios wrote on Twitter. "I got vaccinated because of others and for my mum's health, but how we are handling Novak's situation is bad, really bad.
"Like these memes, headlines, this is one of our great champions but at the end of the day, he is human. Do better."
—Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 7, 2022
Kyrgios' defence of Djokovic will come as a surprise to many given that he has long been an outspoken critic of the 20-time Grand Slam champion — especially in relation to his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2020, Kyrgios hit out at Djokovic after the Serb organized a tennis competition across the Balkans, named the Adria Tour, while almost every other professional sport around the world had come to a halt due to the pandemic.
Social distancing and mask wearing protocols were largely ignored, while many of the players, Djokovic included, were seen partying at a nightclub.
"Prayers up to all the players that have contracted COVID-19," the Aussie star tweeted above a video of Djokovic partying.
"Don't [at] me for anything I've done that has been 'irresponsible' or classified as 'stupidity' — this takes the cake."
—Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 23, 2020
At least year's Australian Open, the two were then engaged in a war of words after Djokovic told reporters that he "doesn't respect" Kyrgios off the court.
Responding to Djokovic's comments, Kyrgios said: "I read his comments. He said he doesn't respect me off the court. I'm like, it actually would make complete sense to me if he was like, 'I don't respect the guy on the court', because I understand if he doesn't agree with some of my antics on the court that I've done in the past.
He added: "Unfortunately someone who's partying with his shirt off during a global pandemic, I don't know if I can take any slack from that man. That's as bad as it gets for me."
Later in the tournament, Kyrgios then mocked Djokovic's trademark celebration ahead of a doubles match.
—Wide World of Sports (@wwos) February 14, 2021
"Novak, I'm sure, doesn't like me and we both have respect for each other, but I don't like him at all, so it's fun."
