Seventh Heaven: Wimbledon Braced For Bitter Nadal, Kyrgios Clash
3rd July 2019
The match is being played against a background of a fierce war of words between the two camps
- Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios resume their bitter rivalry at Wimbledon on Thursday as the two-time champion tackles the combustible and controversial Australian for a place in the last 32
- Nadal has accused the Australian of a "lack of respect" while his uncle Toni, also his former coach, said Kyrgios's disqualification from the Italian Open in May resulted from the actions of an "uneducated man".
- For his part, Kyrgios described Nadal as "super salty" and his "polar opposite" and that they have "mutual respect but nothing else"
LONDON, United Kingdom- Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios resume their bitter rivalry at Wimbledon
on Thursday as the two-time champion tackles the combustible and controversial
Australian for a place in the last 32.
The match is being
played against a background of a fierce war of words between the two camps.
Nadal has accused
the Australian of a "lack of respect" while his uncle Toni, also his
former coach, said Kyrgios's disqualification from the Italian Open in May
resulted from the actions of an "uneducated man".
For his part,
Kyrgios described Nadal as "super salty" and his "polar
opposite" and that they have "mutual respect but nothing else".
AFP Sport looks at
their six previous meetings:
2014 Wimbledon (Round of 16)
Kyrgios 7-6
(7/5), 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3
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-- Just 19 years old
and ranked at 144 in the world, wild card Kyrgios stuns the two-time winner,
becoming the first player outside the top 100 to beat a world number one at a
Grand Slam since 1992.
Kyrgios hits 37 aces
and 70 winners before admitting his mother had inspired him but probably not in
the way she intended.
"I saw an
interview with her saying Nadal was too good, so that made me a bit angry and
that helped."
2016 Rome (Round of 16)
Nadal 6-7
(3/7), 6-2, 6-4
-- Nadal gains
revenge for his Wimbledon shocker on his favourite surface with Kyrgios's hopes
curtailed by a hip injury which needs treatment courtside.
"Obviously he's
the greatest of all time on this surface," said the Australian.
"When I was a
bit younger, we were always talking about playing Rafa on clay, and I always
thought I'd get absolutely destroyed against him."
2017 Madrid (Round of 16)
Nadal 6-3, 6-1
-- The Spaniard
takes just 72 minutes to see off Kyrgios who sings along to Sia's mega-hit 'Chandelier'
between changeovers.
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"I think it's
not normal to win against an opponent like this because Nick is a really
good opponent," said Nadal.
2017 Cincinnati (Quarter-finals)
Kyrgios
6-2, 7-5
-- Kyrgios comes out
on top despite briefly being booed by a crowd who considered a cheeky shot from
between the legs to be disrespectful.
He wins them over by
the end of the match when he writes 'Barcelona' on the courtside camera,
instead of the customary autograph, in honour of the 13 peopled killed in a
terror attack in the heart of the Spanish city.
2017 Beijing (Final)
Nadal 6-2, 6-1
-- Nadal wins his
75th career title and sixth of the year after also triumphing at Roland Garros,
US Open, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Barcelona.
Kyrgios hits 20
winners, but 35 unforced errors.
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"I was a little
bit more aggressive and that was the key," said Nadal.
Kyrgios admits he
was outplayed: "He played well. I played terrible. He's in great form. He
just destroyed me today."
2019 Acapulco (Round of 16)
Kyrgios
3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (8/6)
-- Kyrgios saves
three match points as he beats Nadal before going on to take the title.
However, Nadal
accuses the Australian of "lacking respect" after Kyrgios complains
of feeling ill and serving underarm.
"I don't think
he's a bad guy, not at all. I think he's a good guy, but what he lacks is a
little respect for the public, for his rival, and also for himself. I think he
should improve that," said Nadal.
Kyrgios hit back:
"He doesn't know me. So I'm not going to listen at all. That's the
way I play. The way he plays, he's very slow between points."