Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal share a bitter rivalry that has transcended to intense games and banter. This year has been the year of Nadal so far who has won the first two grand slams of the season. With the two grand slam wins, the clay-court king has gone two up against his eternal rivals Djokovic and Federer. In a recent interview with the newspaper Última Hora, Kyrgios showered praise on Nadal and agreed that he is one of the greatest players ahead of Djokovic and Federer.
The tennis world is currently divided between Nadal, Federer and Djokovic in the debate of who is the greatest of all time. Nadal and Djokovic have caught up with Federer in the past few seasons who has been mostly away from the court due to injuries. Kyrgios settled the debate once and for all and declared Nadal as the best among the three. He said, “I think it’s Rafael Nadal [who is the greatest of the Big-3 for me]. He now has 22 Grand Slams and the other two have twenty.”
Nick Kyrgios refuses to change his attitude on the court
Kyrgios is famous for being too expressive on court. He doesn’t shy away from confronting the umpire or indulging in banter with his opponents. The 27-year-old has built a reputation of being rude on the court. When asked in the interview about his behavior on-court, he found no fault in his behavior and refused to change it for others. Moreover, Kyrgios said, “I’m 27 and have been like this since I was 10. I’ve always been very emotional and ambitious. I’m not going to change. I think the fans want to see exciting and intense matches.”
Kyrgios has been in good form lately and has a chance to go deep in the Wimbledon this year. However, winning grand slams is never on his mind. He revealed in the interview that he does not play with any goals and only thinks of having fun on the court. Kyrgios is confident he can beat anyone and that confidence might help him sail through tough opponents in Wimbledon.