Rafael Nadal explains his criticism of Nick Kyrgios
Rafael Nadal has no problem with Nick Kyrgios - but would like the Australian to orientate himself a little bit towards the older generation.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Mar 11, 2019, 08:59 am
Rafael Nadal did not stay long with his first task at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells: In the 6: 1 and 6: 1 against Jared Donaldson, the Spaniard was, as usual, extremely concentrated and dominant, the next task against Diego Schwartzman could get a little hairier there. After all, the Argentine was the only player who was able to take a set from Nadal in Roland Garros last year.
Even before his sporting start, Nadal had devoted himself once again in detail to his retirement against Nick Kyrgios in Acapulco and the subsequent exchange of friendliness. As a reminder: Kyrgios had won in the tiebreak of the third set after fending off three match balls, Nadal then complained about the Australian's lack of respect for the audience, opponents and himself.
Nadal didn't want to say anything too negative about Kyrgios
Nadal confirmed this again in Indian Wells, but went into more detail with the interval of several days. "Everybody can do what he wants to do. But in my opinion he influences younger players, he's young, he's a famous player. And we have to teach the children who see us on TV good values. One of the best things our generation has with Roger, Novak and me is respect for each other, the audience, the sport. And I think that's a good role model for the next generation. ”
But he really didn't want to say anything too negative about Nick Kyrgios, even if he might have understood it that way. And in retrospect, Nadal did not consider the attempt to succeed with a bottom-up impact as too disturbing. "I didn't feel disrespected by that. I understand that this is part of the game and can also be part of a good show. But there are other things I think Nick could do better. ”