Nick Kyrgios pays tribute to Rafael Nadal – ‘he was a motivation’
Nick Kyrgios has paid tribute to “motivation” and “inspiration” Rafael Nadal after the Spaniard confirmed his impending retirement from tennis.
Former world No 1 and 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal announced earlier today that he would call time on his legendary career at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, held in November.
The announcement ends months of speculation regarding the 38-year-old’s long-term future in the sport, but the news has understandably drawn a huge reaction despite being somewhat expected.
Among those to pay tribute is former world No 12 Kyrgios, who played Nadal nine times over the past decade.
The Australian and Nadal were known not to share the warmest relationship at points in recent years, but the 29-year-old described Nadal as a player who brought “the best out” of you.
He wrote: “Damn. I’ve had nightmares that have woke me up about Rafa. I’m gonna miss them.
“This was someone that I used to prepare for… he was a motivation – I guess an inspiration. F**k – it’s true- people do bring the best out of you.
“You were one of those people. Damn…..”
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Kyrgios famously stunned Nadal in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2014, beating the two-time SW19 champion in four sets – a result that skyrocketed the Australian to superstardom.
He would again beat Nadal at the 2017 Cincinnati Open and 2019 Acapulco Open, though the Spaniard ultimately had the edge in their head-to-head, winning six of their matches.
Nadal dropped just three games when they met in the 2017 China Open final though several of his victories were closer, including four-set wins at Wimbledon in 2019 and the Australian Open in 2020.
The pair were set to meet at Wimbledon for a third time in 2022, though the Spaniard was forced to pull out of their semi-final clash due to injury.
That injury came after he had won the Australian and French Open titles in 2022, and would start what proved to be a disrupted end of his career.
Nadal barely played in 2023 and has played sporadically throughout 2024, with his most recent tournament being the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two years especially,” he said
“I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make.
“But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”
