Nick Kyrgios found himself in the hot seat again as fans didn’t hold back on their critical responses to his reaction to Rafael Nadal’s incredible play against Ivo Karlovic at the 2015 Shanghai Masters. Tennis TV shared an old video clip showcasing Nadal’s astonishing returns against one of the fiercest servers in the history of the game, Ivo Karlovic.
In the video, Karlovic is leading 5-4 and serving for the first set, Nadal makes some amazing returns of serve, securing a break of serve. The Spaniard then went on to break Karlovic again, winning the first set, and eventually securing a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) victory. Kyrgios couldn’t contain his amazement, after watching the video and commenting with just one word, “Insane.”
Insane https://t.co/6JHEl16elQ
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) September 27, 2023
However, he soon found himself in a familiar situation of being at the receiving end of the fans. There were bursts of sarcastic responses from fans who seemed less than impressed with Kyrgios’s reaction. One fan said, “It took 28 years for @NickKyrgios to say something nice about Nadal” implying that Kyrgios had been sparing his words of praise for the legend in the past.
It took 28 years for @NickKyrgios to say something nice about Nadal 😀
— Prasad (@Prasad19sara) September 27, 2023
Another fan mocked Kyrgios stating, “@NickKyrgios you can learn from legends and leaders like @RafaelNadal” suggesting that Kyrgios could take some valuable lessons from Nadal.
@NickKyrgios you can learn from legends and leaders like @RafaelNadal
— Anthony Scalise (@esilacSynohtnA) September 27, 2023
One fan questioned Kyrgios’s tennis abilities, asking, “Nick, did you ever manage to return three serves in a row like that?” hinting that Kyrgios had a long way to go before reaching Nadal’s level.
Nick, did you get to return 3 serves in a row like that?
— Guille Cosío (Irmao) (@GuilleMatias10) September 27, 2023
Tennis fans expressed their dissatisfaction with Kyrgios for not acknowledging Nadal’s skills enough and respecting him as a player in the past. It will be interesting to know how they have stacked against each other on the tennis court!
Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal contrasting tennis journeys
Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios have both been dealing with fitness issues in 2023 and haven’t played much. Their most recent face-off at a Grand Slam stage ended in a disappointment for fans. They were pitted to play each other in the semi-finals of Wimbledon 2022 but it ended in a walk-over when Nadal withdrew due to an injury.
In the head-to-head matchups between Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal, both have played each other 9 times with Nadal winning 6 matches to Kyrgios 3. In Grand Slams their head-to-head is 2-1 favouring Nadal. Their last encounter happened in the ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells in 2022, where Nadal emerged victorious.
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In their overall statistics, Kyrgios has a win-loss record of 205-114 with 7 career titles and career prize money of $12,486,696. He has yet to win a Grand Slam singles trophy. On the other hand, Nadal boasts an impressive career record of 1068-220, with 92 career titles and a total career prize money of $134,640,719. This includes 22 Grand Slam singles titles to his credit.
