Nick Kyrgios partnered Thanasi Kokkinakis to a maiden major doubles crown at the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal says Kyrgios owns the skills to capture a Grand Slam singles title—perhaps as soon as 2023.
Nadal: Huge Motivation Down Under
The 22-time Grand Slam king was asked to assess Kyrgios' competitive future at his United Cup presser. Nadal said "of course" Kyrgios can collect a singles major, though not in Paris.
“I know he doesn’t like a lot to play Roland Garros, that’s the only tournament that looks like he doesn’t like to play that much,” Nadal told the media in Sydney. “The rest of the tournaments, he played final in Wimbledon, in New York he was close with the quarterfinals I think, with a very positive chance."
In fact, Nadal views Kyrgios as a contender to win any tournament he enters.
“He can win in any tournament that he’s playing," Nadal said of Kyrgios. "He has all the talent, the weapons to win against any player. Of course he can.”
Though Kyrgios and Nadal have clashed on court in the past, each man has shown public respect for the other's skills.
Earlier this year, Kyrgios said there can be no doubt the king of clay is the one, true GOAT.
Pointing to Nadal's rally from a two-set deficit to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final and the fact the Spanish superstar became just the third man in ATP history to defeat four Top 10-ranked opponents en route to his 14th Roland Garros crown solidifies his status as GOAT.
Testy clashes in a ferocious Nadal-Kyrgios rivalry have come on major stages. The temperamental Aussie admitted he tried drilling Nadal "square in the chest" during his second-round Wimbledon loss in 2019.
At the 2020 Australian Open, Kyrgios mocked Nadal's pre-serve ritual by picking at the seat of his shorts. Kyrgios says intensity has fueled his rivalry with Nadal and believes the Spaniard is "something special."
“Rafa is something special there," Kyrgios said. "I’m very different and we’ve had our differences when we’ve played each other.
"We’re competitors and we’re going to go at each other. At the same time, I’m not going to take anything away from him.”
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve