Nick Kyrgios has said playing mixed doubles with Venus Williams will be a "dream come true" and joked that he doesn't think she ever thought she would be playing with "the bad boy of tennis."
The Australian announced Saturday that he would be playing with the six-time Wimbledon doubles champion in London. Williams' two mixed doubles wins came in 1998 at the French Open and the Australian Open.
Williams had said after her first-round win Tuesday at the All England Club that she would happily offer Kyrgios any advice he wanted, and he jokingly said he would do the same for her.
"Look, I'm willing to give her any tips she wants. No, no, no, I'm just kidding," he said during a news conference on Wednesday after beating No. 21 seed Ugo Humbert in a five-set thriller.
"She's obviously a legend. To see her still gracing the courts of Wimbledon, winning matches at 41 -- at 41, I don't think I'll be able to honestly hit another ball. She's a legend."
Kyrgios added that playing together had been on the cards for the two for a while but "it just never worked out" and said playing with either her or Serena Williams had long been something he wanted to experience.
"I'm not sure how long she'll play for, so before she kind of gives it up, I do want to experience playing with one of the Williams sisters in mixed doubles," he said.
"Honestly, that's like a dream come true for me. They've been around for so, so long. I think it will be a bit of fun. I think we're a bit of a danger pair as well if we serve well. The crowd will definitely get behind us.
"Maybe she can teach me some of that calm, the water-type energy that's out there. I'm just going to go out there and have fun. She's an absolute legend of the sport.
"I'm super excited. I can tell she's excited, too. I don't think she ever thought back in the day she'd be playing mixed doubles with the bad boy of tennis, so we'll see how it goes."
Williams and Kyrgios have been drawn against American pair Austin Krajicek and Sabrina Santamaria, who are ranked No. 51 and No. 65, respectively, in doubles. They meet on Friday.