Nick Kyrgios had his biggest win in two years, saving three match points to crush World No.2 Rafael Nadal in three hours, having 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(6).
It was the sixth clash between the pair and the first one since Nadal’s straight-set victory in the China Open final in October 2017. So much has happened in both of their lives since that day- Nadal won his 11th Roland-Garros crown and tops the ATP rankings while Kyrgios had to face injury after injuries to slump to No.72.
As controversial as always Kyrgios almost retired due to sickness during the first set but then find the second wind. The 23-year-old went on to win a thrilling deciding tie-break which had Nadal raging.
As the players went to embrace at the net, the Spaniard didn’t look at his opponent and shook hand for a split-second before pushing away. The fans on social media say that they have never seen Nadal so enraged with his defeat.
After the match, Nadal told the reporters, “He is a player with huge talents and could be winning Grand Slams or fight for the first position in the ranking”.
However, he also suggested some improvements for the Aussie to work on saying Kyrgios “lack respect for the public, the opponent and himself”.
