Australian Open 2020 - Has Nick Kyrgios turned a corner? Rafael Nadal grudge match will reveal all
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Updated 25/01/2020 at 18:44 GMT
On a cool Saturday evening in Melbourne, Nick Kyrgios rallied to win a fifth set super tiebreak in front of a fiercely partisan and expectant home crowd, earning a place in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Nick Kyrgios
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Kyrgios has impressed so far with calm and cool performances, and here was another for the collection as he rallied after squandering a two-set lead and two match points. For all the world this felt like a match the mercurial Australian would have thrown away in his early years, but the world number 26 refused to let his own checkered history get the better of him.
So far so good for the home favourite. Next up, Rafael Nadal.
If Kyrgios is to revert to type, it’ll be here, in the grudge match we were all hoping to see. But be careful what you wish for. Nadal is a player tailor made to bring out the best and the worst of the Australian.
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'That was insane!' - Kyrgios reacts to incredible match
The worst
On the court, the Spaniard has toyed with time violations throughout his career while Kyrgios tends to race through points, prompting this assessment from the Aussie last year:
He takes 40 seconds between every serve, is that within reason? No. So don’t tell me to play within reason. He doesn’t play within reason. It’s not fair. This is part of the sport is it? What’s happening now is part of the sport? I’m serving next and he happens to take a toilet break now. Why? What’s going on bro? What’s going on? It’s bull****.
Nadal’s obsessively curated style of play gives Kyrgios more time alone with his thoughts, and who knows what that’s like.
He is prone to boredom in a tennis match and Nadal’s slow service games could very well grind the Aussie down, raking up his unforced error count as frustrations get the better of him.
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Kyrgios imitates Nadal – and even the umpire laughs!
And all this has led to some bad blood off the court. The Aussie referred to Nadal as “perhaps one of the greatest of all time” after his third-round match against Karen Khachanov, but while he is not short of admiration for the Spaniard’s achievements, talent and success, he stops short of praising his character.
In fact, he has described Nadal as "super-salty", accusing him of being a sore loser and adding that his uncle and once long-time coach Toni is an "idiot". He also joined forces with Gilles Simon this week in imitating the Spaniard when arguing a time violation. They’re laughing at you Rafa.
But does Nadal care? Unlikely. The Spaniard is one of the most mentally strong athletes the sport has ever seen - these mind games won’t get to him. His response to all this is typically short, expressing admiration for Kyrgios’ potential, but also his displeasure for the less savoury and more inflammatory side of his game and demeanour.
And Nadal will do well to cool the flames, because Kyrgios seems to thrive off the rivalry.
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Highlights: Kyrgios survives epic with Khachanov
The best
The Australian has three wins from seven against the illustrious Nadal, and will revel in the box office billing of their latest grudge match with a partisan crowd behind him.
And away from all the background noise and history, Kyrgios is playing really good tennis.
He has an armoury of shots few others can choose from, and even fewer can predict. Khachanov was left chasing some truly outrageous angles in Melbourne, while Kyrgios earned huge applause with a series of featherweight dropshots, thrown in with a vicious first serve and a tasty backhand.
Kyrgios absolutely has the tools to beat Nadal, and has saved his very best for the Spaniard before, memorably knocking him out of Wimbledon in 2014 and more recently beating him in Mexico in 2019.
In the past, Kyrgios has put down those tools far in favour of protest and provocation, but if there were ever a match to show the world that he's turned a corner and is prepared for the highest level, this is it.
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