"I have respect for him. I have respect for everyone else really because everyone has a right and freedom to choose how they want to express themselves, what they want to do. My respect goes to him for the tennis he's playing.
Then Djokovic provided a blunt conclusion.
"Off the court, I don't have much respect for him, to be honest. That's where I'll close it. I really don't have any further comments for him, his own comments for me or anything else he's trying to do."
It comes after Kyrgios last month labelled Djokovic a "tool" for his supposed list of demands for players completing their 14-days of hard lockdown. The letter sent to Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley called for players to be housed in mansions with tennis courts in their backyards during their quarantine period.
The Serbian later issued another letter to clarify the list and defend himself in the wake of fierce criticism.
Kyrgios also re-posted an old quote to his Instagram stories claiming there's no way Djokovic, the winner of 17 grand slam singles titles, could ever be the greatest male tennis player of all time.
"No matter how many grand slams he wins, he will never be the greatest for me," Kyrgios told the No Challenges Remaining podcast in 2019.
"Simply because I've played him twice and, I'm sorry, but if you can't beat me, you're not the greatest of all time."
Kyrgios uploaded that quote again to Instagram on Thursday night, adding the caption: "I ain't holding back."
