While at Wimbledon this year working in commentary, Kyrgios hit with former world No.1 Djokovic with the record-setting Serb proving an unlikely source of inspiration.
“I was hitting with Novak and when he said to me, ‘It doesn’t look like you’ve had surgery’, and that was a big motivation to say like maybe I’m actually making some inroads and some progress into getting back because I didn’t really know.
“That was a big drive for me … so, if he didn’t say that, I don’t know if I would have been motivated and if I would have kept pushing on the thought, but that was definitely a big part of the journey when he said that to me.”
With his last Tour match a short-lived return to grass at Stuttgart in June 2023, Kyrgios has also committed to Australian Open 2025.
First he will suit up in the World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, with the mixed team event also attracting the likes of Iga Swiatek, Casper Ruud, Aryna Sabalenka, Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev.
A winner of seven titles on the ATP Tour, the one-time world No.13, who is currently unranked, still has grand slam ambitions.
“I’ll have to be reasonable with myself as there was a fair chance of me not even returning to this level and playing confidently so I think I’ve already exceeded a lot of expectation,” he said.
“But I’m my hardest critic and I want to win matches, I don’t want to make up the numbers.
“The way I’m hitting it now, I’ve never hit it as good as I’m hitting it now so I’m just going to take it day by day.
“I generally think that my level is still high enough to be able to compete for these kind of tournaments and grand slams so I’m excited to be back.”