Nick Kyrgios boldly says he will slap Rafael Nadal, but with 1 condition
Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal have faced each other numerous times, and their matches were almost always fiercely competitive. However, now that Nadal has retired and Kyrgios is no longer active on tour as regularly as before, the two have taken to speaking about each other in a more lighthearted, playful manner.
On Monday, Kyrgios was given two options by an Instagram user to choose from: “Kyrgios or Rafa?”
Kyrgios, who has never won a Grand Slam in his career—though he has come close on several occasions—surprised many by choosing the unexpected $50 million option that involved punching Nadal. He revealed his choice by saying:
“50 milly @yungjamzz.”
The closest Kyrgios has come to winning a Grand Slam was at the 2022 Wimbledon, when he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the final.
Nick Kyrgios pulls no punches about Rafael Nadal
Nick Kyrgios hasn’t held Rafael Nadal in high regard as he often has complained about the Spaniard’s longer pause between serves during which he bounces the ball numerous times and pulls his hair back. The Australian finds it annoying, as he described his relationship with Nadal on the Nothing Major podcast.
“I couldn’t stand him. When I saw him walking on and off the court, it filled me with hatred; I despised him immensely,” Kyrgios said.
In another interview via TNT Sports, Kyrgios said:
“What Rafa had were tennis diseases with all that stuff he did during matches. Some of his gestures disgusted me. I hated seeing players who took so long between serves, especially between the first and second serve. He did it, and that made me despise him.”
However, he admired the Spaniard’s greatness by claiming that Nadal motivated him to push harder for results.
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“Playing against him motivated me greatly; I felt a great anger inside me and always tried to play my best tennis to show everyone that I idolized him for his work ethic, that you can succeed while having fun and staying calm. I never had similar feelings when facing Roger or Novak, for example,” Kyrgios added.
As far as his rivalry with Rafael Nadal is concerned, the Australian is 3-6. In the 2022 Wimbledon semifinal, Kyrgios was scheduled to face Nadal, but the Spaniard took a walkout. Before that, Nadal had won in the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells against Kyrgios.
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The closest Kyrgios has come to winning a Grand Slam was at Wimbledon in 2022, where he reached the final but was defeated by Novak Djokovic.
Nick Kyrgios pulls no punches about Rafael Nadal..
Nick Kyrgios hasn’t always held Rafael Nadal in high regard, often complaining about the Spaniard’s lengthy pre-serve routine, during which Nadal bounces the ball repeatedly and adjusts his hair. The Australian has admitted that he finds it annoying, a point he emphasized while describing his relationship with Nadal on the Nothing Major podcast.
“What Rafa had were tennis diseases with all that stuff he did during matches. Some of his gestures disgusted me. I hated seeing players who took so long between serves, especially between the first and second serve. He did it, and that made me despise him.”
“Playing against him motivated me greatly; I felt a great anger inside me and always tried to play my best tennis to show everyone that I idolized him for his work ethic, that you can succeed while having fun and staying calm. I never had similar feelings when facing Roger or Novak, for example,” Kyrgios added.
As far as his rivalry with Rafael Nadal is concerned, the Australian trails 3–6 in their head-to-head record. At Wimbledon in 2022, Kyrgios was scheduled to face Nadal in the semifinals, but the Spaniard withdrew before the match. Prior to that, Nadal had defeated Kyrgios in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.
