Nick Kyrgios expressed his heartbreak at Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from the Australian Open this year.
Due to persistent injuries he sustained in 2023, Kyrgios is not competing in the Melbourne event. Despite this, he expressed empathy for the Spaniard.
At the Brisbane International, Nadal thought he would make a spectacular return this month. However, he will be unable to attend the event due to a small injury that he picked up during his loss to Jordan Thompson.
Kyrgios expressed his thoughts recently: “I know how hard he would have worked in the last year getting healthy. He wants to just play grand slams. That’s always been my fear: going out of the sport, not on your terms, where your body starts to tell you you’re maybe past it. And Rafa is someone who is so important to the sport and it just takes time. It broke my heart seeing that.”
Nick Kyrgios in 2024
Now ranked no.470, Kyrgios played his last match on the 13th of June 2023 when he surrendered to world no.122 Yibing Wu 7-5 6-3
in the 1st round in Stuttgart (draw).Currently, during this year the Australian has an overall 0-1 win-loss record.
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Ranked world no.451, Nadal played his last match on the 5th of January when he surrendered to world no.47 Jordan Thompson 5-7 7-6(6) 6-3 in the quarter in Brisbane (draw).
At present, during this year the Spaniard achieved an overall 2-1 record.
Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal squared off 9 times. Their current head to head is 6-3 for Nadal. Before, the last time they squared off, Rafael Nadal won 7-6(0) 5-7 6-4 in the quarter in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open) in March 2022.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |