Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios speak about partnership at Brisbane International

To be fair, the Brisbane International is setting up to have another good edition when it helps kick off the 2025 tennis season. None of the top-five ranked players on the ATP tour will be there, but Novak Djokovic will be. He will be playing in Brisbane for the first time since 2020. The odd part is the Serb was expected to have a lighter schedule in 2025, and his playing in Brisbane might show that is a lie.

But the 24-time Grand Slam winner will not just be playing singles at the event. He will be involved in doubles as well. And he won't have just any random partner. To the delight of many tennis fans, Djokovic will be teaming up with Nick Kyrgios.

Kyrgios will be working on making a comeback as he has not played much professionally in a year and a half. He did recently play some exhibition matches, and he did OK. How long it takes him to get back in match shape is anyone's guess, and that goes for both the mental and physical sides. Practicing is one thing. Playing a high-stress match is completely different.

Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios make for must-watch tennis at the Brisbane International

Kyrgios playing doubles with Djokovic only gives him more time on the court to try to prepare for the 2025 season. The oft-injured Aussie has excellent skills, but he also has lacked the greatest of abilities: Staying healthy and playing consistently. Maybe his future will look different than his past.

If nothing else, though, the partnership for at least one match of Kyrgios and Djokovic makes for must-watch tennis for tennis fans. We have never seen it before. The two have said they have spoken about the potential of playing doubles for some time now, but Kyrgios's injuries and Djokovic's indecision on which tournaments to play have made that impossible. Until now.

Asked by a reporter about playing with Kyrgios after arriving in Brisbane this week, Djokovic said, "Yeah, that’s going to be fun. We’ve never teamed up so let’s see. You know, we texted about it, and we spoke earlier in Wimbledon about playing together when he’s back on tour. Get the first chance right away in the first week of the season, so should be fun."

Kyrgios also got stopped at the airport to be asked about his reaction to Djokovic's comments. The Aussie jokingly responded by saying, "Of course, he is (excited). Yeah, I mean, everyone thinks it’s a pleasure playing with him; it’s actually a pleasure playing with me, let’s be real."

The bottom line is we should hope that Djokovic and Kyrgios enjoy playing together because their styles would seemingly translate to highly entertaining doubles. The pair will face off against Austria’s Alexander Erler and Germany’s Andreas Mies in the first round.

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