Nick Kyrgios has already beaten Rafael Nadal three times in their now nine-match ATP Head2Head history. But this one would have been special, given Nadal’s perfect start to the 2022 season.

Instead, after serving for a one-set lead and creating two break points early in the final set, he dropped a heartbreaking 7-6(0), 5-7, 6-4 decision to the Spaniard, who improved to 19-0 on the season.

“That one hit pretty hard. I felt like, honestly, I was the one to end the streak,” Kyrgios reflected in his post-match press conference.

The Aussie entered the match full of confidence following his first Top 10 win in more than two years against Casper Ruud. He had not dropped a set or a service game on the way to the quarter-finals, and had no problem keeping up that form at the start of the match against 21-time Grand Slam champion Nadal.

“I felt like I was playing well. I felt like I did everything right in the first set that I planned to do. I sat down with my coach—myself—and I had a game plan, and everything was working,” said Kyrgios, who does not travel with a coach. “Two points away from the first set, I don’t know how he got out of that game. 5-4, 30/15, just kept replaying that point over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.”

Kyrgios was on the verge of two set points before Nadal stayed alive with a desperate scramble, floating a hopeful lob just inside the sideline to get back in the rally. That was the start of three straight points for the Spaniard, who ended a run of 30 consecutive holds and nine straight break points saved for Kyrgios at the tournament. 

After a late-set collapse that culminated in a point penalty to close a shutout tie-break loss, Kyrgios regrouped admirably to force a decider. Despite the result, Kyrgios took pride in his performance and his part in a marquee matchup on one of the game’s biggest stages.

“That’s what you dream about as a little kid, to play these events against Nadal and the hype around it,” he explained after “episode nine” of their rivalry. “I don’t see any other matches getting this kind of hype. As soon as we matched up against each other, social media’s going nuts… I think it lived up to it.

“And it was an amazing atmosphere. I knew the crowd was obviously, every time you play against Rafa, Roger, or Novak, the crowd’s going to be heavily in their favour, and I know that, and I’m not asking them to go for me. I like that kind of villain, underdog-type feeling. But again, it was an amazing atmosphere. I’m never going to take that for granted. Rafa’s a champion. So, you know, I think we’ve got an enormous amount of respect for each other. At the net, we said words, and I can feel it. We respect each other and he’s a hell of a player.”

Kyrgios later elaborated on that mutual respect, alluding to some past barbs exchanged between the two:

“I feel like we respect each other. I think he’s the greatest of all time as of now,” he said. “I really in this game have never said anything that bad, compared to if I went through my [social media] comments right now, like that’s what I’m getting on a daily basis.

“I’ve never said anything like that to Rafael Nadal. I’ve had a couple comments and he’s had a couple comments back. And, you know, it’s good for the sport, that rivalry. Like, I’m Nick Kyrgios and I’m a rival to Rafael Nadal. How? Like how is that possible?

“And I think it’s exciting for the sport, do you know what I mean? Like that’s what people should be talking about. And my career’s 1/40th of what he’s done and we’re rivals because of that little back and forth that was nothing.”

Perhaps it’s Kyrgios’ recognition of Nadal’s greatness that will make this loss sting so much. In press, he recalled watching the Spaniard win Grand Slams as a kid, and getting autographs from the likes of Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Now that he’s become accustomed to competing against those legends, the 26-year-old relishes his role as one of the great entertainers in the modern game — even if some purists bristle at his brash attitude. Who else would get into a spat with a fan at deuce in a deciding set, as Kyrgios did Thursday at Indian Wells, bringing front-row seated actor Ben Stiller into the discussion?

And even though Kyrgios had his customary ‘dialogue’ with the chair umpire and some issues with the crowd in the quarter-final matchup, he never lost focus in the contest and forced Nadal to come up with another classic comeback to advance.

“I feel like I’m helping the sport, I’m creating more attention and everyone who thinks that I’m bad for the sport is just an idiot,” he snapped. “Like they have obviously got no idea. No idea.”

Kyrgios, who will move to the brink of the Top 100 with his quarter-final result, will again compete as a wild card in Miami next week.

Source Tennis – ATP World Tour