Rain check! Despite delays, Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios' Wimbledon practice goes ahead

A combination of wet weather, and scheduling conflicts, briefly foiled a planned on-court reunion between Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios at this year's Wimbledon ... but as Friday at the All England Club proved, you can't keep besties apart for too long.

Kyrgios, who hasn't played in more than a year due to continuing injuries, is on-site this year at the grass-court Grand Slam as a commentator, and told TV viewers during Djokovic's first-round win over Czech Vit Kopriva on Tuesday that the rivals-turned-friends, who famously met for the title on Centre Court in 2022, that he'd be warming Djokovic up for his next match.

"Feel like a little kid again," Kyrgios later followed up in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "Long way back from this surgery!"

But Djokovic ended up hitting on Wednesday with Taylor Fritz, the man who gave him some tips on how to manage recovery from the torn meniscus that ended his Roland Garros campaign prematurely last month. On Thursday, he hit around with his 9-year-old son, Stefan, before earning a four-set win over British wild card Jacob Fearnley.

See it: Novak Djokovic warms up with son Stefan before Wimbledon match

So what happened? Djokovic revealed that a rainy first week at SW19, and Kyrgios' myriad of media commitments, made things complex.

“He couldn’t in the end because of commentary commitments and the practice being delayed by the rain,” Djokovic said, per a report from Fox Sports Australia.

But the Serb was optimistic that it was merely a postponement, rather than an outright cancellation.

“I hope it will happen later in the week," he added. "It was a shame because we were both excited for it.”

As it turned out, the duo hit the court together on Friday, sticking with their plans despite morning rain that pushed the start of play on the outside courts back by two hours.

Djokovic and Kyrgios' evolution from trading public criticisms to full-blossomed bromance has been well-documented, and Djokovic was even a guest on Kyrgios' video podcast *Good Trouble* earlier this year. And as he's working his way back from an injury that required arthroscopic surgery last month, the 24-time Grand Slam singles champion spoke from the heart in sympathy for the Aussie's long layoff.

"He's been struggling a lot with injuries. Talking about major injuries, he's had a few. I've been very fortunate to not be away from tennis for long," Djokovic said after his opening Wimbledon match.

"As an athlete, I empathize with Nick and anyone who's struggling. You almost feel helpless at times that something isn't allowing you to come back to what you love most, and you're unable to do your profession for years."

But there was no better time than Wimbledon's middle weekend to reschedule the practice: Djokovic will face Kyrgios' compatriot, the unseeded Alexei Popyrin, in Saturday's third round, and could face another, No.9 seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals.

With so many Aussies in his future, what's one more?