The coronavirus crisis could spark an epic tennis truce.
Nick Kyrgios has asked long-time nemesis Rafa Nadal to do an Instagram Live chat together. Kyrgios' request came in response to a BBC post asking for intriguing live chat prospects.
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"Rafa lets do Instagram live together. I am down with it. Rafael Nadal let's do it," Kyrgios posted on Instagram.
US Open champion Nadal has done live chats with Roger Federer and Andy Murray and recently participated in a live chat with his Spanish Davis Cup teammates.
Nadal has yet to respond to Kyrgios' request. If it happens, it would represent a calm in a sometime volatile relationship.
The temperamental Aussie admitted he tried drilling Nadal "square in the chest" during his second-round Wimbledon loss last summer.
Kyrgios mocked Nadal's pre-serve ritual at the Australian Open in January by picking at the seat of his shorts. The 23rd-seeded Aussie downplayed bad blood with Nadal after the 19-time Grand Slam champion knocked him out of Melbourne.
"I don't really know Rafa. I've never, like, hung out with him or anything like that," said Kyrgios. "So I don't really know how he is. I don't really dislike him. I never said...
Asked how he feels about Kyrgios, Nadal was clear he doesn't appreciate disrespect.
"It's clear, of course, that when he does stuff that in my opinion is not good, I don't like," Nadal said in Melbourne. "When he plays good tennis and he shows passion for this game, he is a positive player for our tour, and I want my tour bigger, not smaller.
"So the players who make the tour bigger are important for the tour. When he's ready to play his best tennis and play with passion, is one of these guys. When he's doing the other stuff, of course I don't like."
The "other stuff" of course includes incidents in their Wimbledon second-round clash turned grudge match.
Nadal called out Kyrgios' body blow aas a dangerous play.
"When he hit the ball like this, is dangerous. Is not dangerous for me, is dangerous for a line referee, dangerous for a crowd," Nadal said. "When you hit the ball like this, you don't know where the ball goes. I know he's a big talented player, but I am a professional player, too. I know when you hit this kind of ball, the ball can go anywhere."
Kyrgios, who was annoyed by what he perceived as Nadal's stalling between points, ripped into the chair umpire during a Nadal bathroom break at SW19.
“What is this stuff bro? Play the game," Kyrgios said on court. "Just kiss up to him, it’s a joke. He takes 40 seconds between every serve, is that within reason? No. So don’t tell me to play within reason."
Afterward, Kyrgios admitted he tried to nail Nadal with the ball and said he has no reason to apologize for the act.
"Why would I apologize?" Kyrgios continued. "I mean, the dude has got how many slams, how much money in the bank account? I think he can take a ball to the chest, bro. I'm not going to apologize to him at all."
A basic conflict between the pair is time management: Nadal is methodical and ritualistic between his service points using every second of the serve clock, while Kyrgios can play at an almost manic pace as if playing speed chess.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve