Xinhua

'For 33 minutes and 3 seconds…,' Novak Djokovic shares his bizarre secret of winning a slam with 'brother' Nick Kyrgios after he makes his way to the semifinals at the Australian Open

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Gouri Das | Last updated 1/23/24

As Novak Djokovic reached his 48th Grand Slam semi-finals, his Australian rival Nick Kyrgios asked him the secret of winning so many Grand Slam titles. Djokovic’s answer drew loud laughs from the spectators at the Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday (January 23).

The World No.1 defeated USA’s Taylor Fritz to progress into the semi-finals, where he will face Italy’s Jannik Sinner on Friday (January 26th). Unlike the other rounds, the Serb could not beat Fritz without toiling at first, but at the end, Djokovic emerged as the winner with a scoreline of 7-6(7-3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

After the match, the crowd saw another bromance between local boy Kyrgios and the 10th-time Australian Open champion. Kyrgios, who is not playing his home Grand Slam tournament for the second consecutive year, joked by asking Djokovic if the secret to his winning 24 Grand Slam titles is due to a particular tree.

There’s a tree you go to in the royal botanical gardens. Can you show me which tree that is? I need to get healthy because I’m sick of you winning on this court.
Kyrgios asked Djokovic after the latter’s quarter-final victory

In response, Djokovic said to win a Grand Slam, one has to hang upside down for more than half an hour from the highest point of that particular tree.

I'll show you the tree. You can't tell anyone. It's a big secret. You have to take off your shoes climb to the highest point and hang upside down on one of the highest branches for 33 minutes and 3 seconds. Then you're going to win a slam. Djokovic replied

Watch the video that has gone viral:

If you see someone in the Royal Botanic Gardens hanging upside down from a tree in the near future, at least you'll know why! @djokernole • @NickKyrgios • #AusOpen • #AO2024 pic.twitter.com/70LBRWLP3C
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2024

Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner head-to-head stats

Jannik Sinner is one of the young tennis sensations from whom many expect a lot in the near future. The 22-year-old has clinched 10 titles so far in singles and reached his career-best rank of No. 4 in October 2023.

The World No. 4 has reached his first semi-finals at the Australian Open, but his road to the trophy is not going to be easy at all, for he will face Novak Djokovic. In the quarter-finals, Sinner defeated Andrey Rublev in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(7-5), 6-3.

Before the Australian Open, the only time he advanced into the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament was at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. He faced Djokovic in that match and lost in straight sets with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.

The 36-year-old leads the head-to-head record 4-2. They last faced each other at the Davis Cup Finals, which the Italian won 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: