Australian Open: Rafa Nadal 'impressed' with Kyrgios performance, Spaniard moves to round four
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Nick Kyrgios stepped in the court almost teary-eyed donning the Lakers jersey paying tribute to the late legend Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash on Monday.
Rafael Nadal defeated Nick Kyrgios in a grudge match of tennis in the Australian Open. The scores were 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4).
The Spaniard was handed his first-ever set defeat in the tournament by the Aussie tennis ace Kyrgios.
Nick Kyrgios stepped in the court almost teary-eyed donning the Lakers jersey paying tribute to the late legend Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash on Monday.
Competing with a heavy heart tonight 💔@NickKyrgios | #AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/7mXMbWb8sh
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2020
Missed the warm-up?@NickKyrgios paid homage to the late Kobe Bryant 8⃣💔#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/kTKniTJykw
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2020
Kyrgios in his post-match conference talked about this tragic event that shook the sports world.
.@NickKyrgios reflects on the late Kobe Bryant and how he used the news to 'motivate' himself in his fourth round match up with Rafael Nadal.#AusOpen | #AO2020 pic.twitter.com/3a2Qeny0DT
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2020
.@RafaelNadal pays tribute to the late Kobe Bryant.#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/82wGbWfN3z
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2020
The off-court rivalry between Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal started when the World No 1 (Nadal) called Kyrgios behaviour inappropriate and said that "he lacks respect". Kyrgios reverted by calling him "super salty". Recently, Nick Kyrgios mimicked Rafa's pre-serve routine during his match against Simon Gilles.
They don't call him the world No.1 for nothing ☝️🇪🇸
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2020
After 3 hours and 38 minutes @RafaelNadal def. Nick Kyrgios 6-3 3-6 7-6(6) 7-6(4) to advance to his 12th #AusOpen quarterfinal.#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/a14tlkZWKt
Rafael Nadal reacted to this mimicry in his post-match press meet after winning the third round. He said: "I really don’t care. I am here to play tennis. Honestly, I don’t care at all. It was funny, good. That’s it,".
Rafael Nadal after defeating the Australian showman was impressed by him. He praised Kyrgios for his good sportsman spirit. He was given good competition from the Australian.
"When he is focused on what he is doing, I think he is a very important player for our sport."@RafaelNadal with some powerful praise for @NickKyrgios after their fourth-round clash.#AusOpen | #AO2020 pic.twitter.com/fHXCGMFHZD
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2020
"When he is playing like today with this positive attitude he gives a lot of positive things to our sport," Nadal said.
"He's one of the highest talents that we have on our tour."
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2020
Respect from @RafaelNadal towards opponent @NickKyrgios 👊#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/DxU4G16C18
"He's one of the highest talents we have on our tour and I like the Nick Kyrgios during the whole of this tournament." the Spaniard added.
The 19-time Grand Slam winner will be eyeing Federer's 20 grand slam record. He is set to face Dominic Thiem. The Austrian was defeated twice in the French Open finals by the Spaniard.