Nick Kyrgios ‘would have won five Slams with me, but it wouldn’t be cheap,’ Novak Djokovic joked.

Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios’ bromance has gone up another notch or two.

Following his opening win at the Srpska Open on Wednesday, world No. 1 Djokovic was asked if there was a tennis player he wanted to coach after the match.

«I’d love to coach Nick Kyrgios,» replied the 22-time Grand Slam. «He would have won five Slams with me, but it won’t be cheap.»

Kyrgios responded quickly, but wasn’t ready to accept Djokovic’s offer just yet.

«Hahahahaha…let’s have a nice dinner and drinks instead,» he wrote on Instagram Stories.

Djokovic will no doubt have his work cut out for him if he wants to mentor Kyrgios, as the Australian has made no secret that he is one of the most difficult players to work with. He has been without a coach since 2017.

In the year «I don’t have a goal to win a Grand Slam in 2020,» Kyrgios said. I just want it my way, have fun with it and just play. So getting a trainer is worthless to me. Because I almost don’t want to waste their time. I don’t think a coach is ready – and I don’t bother them because that would be a nightmare.»

Although his attitude to tennis has changed since then, admitting that winning a Grand Slam is now one of his main career goals after last year’s Wimbledon final.

Wimbledon 2022, of course, was also a turning point in the Kyrgios-Djokovic relationship as they had a «date» for dinner after the final match with plans to «seed» it, although it didn’t work out.

Last year’s friendly was a far cry from their debut on the ATP Tour, with Kyrgios taking a jibe at the Serbian, labeling him «annoying». But Djokovic rarely took the bait and always kept things under wraps.

However, Kirgovic’s public support for Djokovic thawed last year due to his unvaccinated extradition from Australia, with the Serbian saying his support is a difficult time for the world.

And their friendship took another step up at Wimbledon with Kyrgios «sliding each other’s DMs» in the build-up to the final. Before the showdown at SW19, they made dinner plans, but never followed through, even as their bromance continued to grow.

Earlier this year at the Australian Open, they teased fans about joining the doubles competition, instead playing an exhibition match in front of a sold-out crowd at Rod Laver Arena.

Read more: Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic: From frosty relationship to ‘breakup’ and sliding into each other’s DMs