Rafael Nadal on Nick Kyrgios feud: I don’t know Nick

Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal “doesn’t want to talk about Nick Kyrgios” just yet as he is not playing against the Australian in the first round at Wimbledon.

Two-time Wimbledon winner Nadal opens his 2019 campaign against Japanese qualifier Yuichi Sugita and if he comes through that match then he could face Kyrgios in the second round, provided the world No 43 beats Jordan Thompson.

It will be a mouth-watering affair as Kyrgios, who beat the Spaniard in the second round at SW19 in 2014, has made no secret of the fact that he is not a fan of Nadal, calling him “super salty” during an interview earlier this year.

Naturally everyone is interested in Nadal’s thoughts on the comments, but he played with a straight bat when asked about it.

“I don’t know Nick, being honest. I don’t want to talk about Nick much because I am not playing against Nick. I am playing against Sugita,” he said.

“Every match is tough. If I am able to win my match and if Nick is able to win his match (against Thompson), you will have the time to ask me about the next match, no? That’s all.”

The 18-time Grand Slam winner didn’t play any warm-up grass-court tournaments ahead of Wimbledon, but he is not too bothered about being undercooked on the surface.

“There are no two equal situations,” he said. “I won 2010 I think here after a very, very tough first couple of rounds. Sometimes that helps, especially in this event, that you arrive here without playing much on this surface.

“It’s a different situation, different surface, so I need to spend time on court. I’m improving every day. Of course, in terms of a competitive match, on Tuesday [it’s] going to be my first match. Going to be a tough one, a tough start against a player who already played three matches here. So it’s a challenge.”

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