‘I think he’s the greatest of all time’, Nick Kyrgios shows great respect for Rafael Nadal, saying he didn’t even achieve 1/40 of what Rafa achieved
Australian showman Nick Kyrgios has been playing some of his best tennis lately but still came up short against one of the greatest players of all time – Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard defeated Nadal in three tight sets 7-6(0),5-7,6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters. Despite the result, the Australian can take a lot of positives with him. This was his first appearance in the Masters Quarterfinals in almost 5 years and along the way he defeated some big names throughout the week.
In the post-match press conference, Kyrgios spoke about his relationship with Nadal. The two have shared some heated moments on the pitch in the past and Nadal is also Kyrgios’ biggest rival on the pitch in terms of number of games played.
The Australian said he felt they both respected each other and also credited him as the greatest of all time. He added that the rivalry is good for tennis but also doubted whether he is really a rival of Nadal or not given the number of awards he has received.
“I feel like we respect each other. I think he’s the greatest of all time. I had a few comments and he had a few comments back. It’s good for the sport, this rivalry. I’m Nick Kyrgios and a rival of Rafael Nadal. How? How is that possible? I think it’s exciting for the sport, you know what I mean?” he said.
He went on to say that he hasn’t even achieved 1/40th of what Rafa has achieved. “People should talk about that. And my career is 1/40th of what he did and we’re rivals because of that little back and forth, it was nothing.” he said.
“Episode 10 coming soon”: Nick Kyrgios
After the match, Kyrgios took to Twitter to pay tribute to Nadal. He admitted Rafa was too good for him today and said their 10th meeting will be soon. “Too good @RafaelNadal Episode 10 coming soon……” he wrote. This was the 9th meeting between Nadal and Kyrgios. The Spaniard currently leads the H2H 6-3.
Kyrgios will now travel to Miami for the Miami Masters. He will then play a solo clay court tournament in Houston and skip the rest of the clay court season. After a two-month hiatus, he will have a packed grass court season with up to three tournaments ahead of Wimbledon.
Also read: “We will see the old swing battle between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev,” Paul Annacone handed over the handover of the top position in the ATP rankings
https://firstsportz.com/tennis-i-think-hes-the-greatest-of-all-time-nick-kyrgios-shows-massive-respect-towards-rafael-nadal-says-he-hasnt-done-even-1-40th-of-what-rafa-has-achieved/ ‘I think he’s the greatest of all time’, Nick Kyrgios shows great respect for Rafael Nadal, saying he didn’t even achieve 1/40 of what Rafa achieved