Nick Kyrgios fell in the Indian Wells Masters 1000 quarterfinals to Rafa Nadal . The Australian offered a great level of play, but ended up losing in a match in which he once again showed his most controversial facet. Several broken rackets, another that almost hit a ball boy and even a verbal confrontation with the actor Ben Stiller, present in the first row to enjoy another meeting of Rafa Nadal in the Californian tournament.
Nick Kyrgios once again offered his many facets on the track. On the one hand, he delighted everyone with his excellent level of tennis, putting Rafa Nadal in trouble on several occasions. But the Australian also offered his other less friendly face, the one that leads him to break tennis rackets without caring about the consequences, to make a fuss and complain and even confront a spectator in the stands. Even with an actor. This was the case with Ben Stiller, who witnessed Rafa Nadal’s match in Indian Wells and who had already been seen in previous rounds enjoying the Spanish tennis on the spot.
“Are you good at tennis?” Kyrgios asked Ben Stiller, interrupting a serve in an important game of the third set, a partial that the Australian had managed to force after being traced back in the first. The actor, a confessed follower of Rafa Nadal , told him no. To which the one from Canberra replied: «Exactly, so don’t tell me how to play. Shall I tell you how you should act? No”.
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Does @NickKyrgios tell @BenStiller how to act? Don’t think so…#IndianWells pic.twitter.com/wrq9j5VBSi
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 18, 2022
Kyrgios lost his temper several times in the match against Rafa Nadal, frustrated by the impossibility of winning against the Spaniard. The Australian received some ‘warning’, after breaking a racket, in fact, it even cost him a point in the tiebreak and the set went straight to Nadal’s pocket (7-6(0)). He also tried to surprise Nadal with a serve from below, but the surprise was taken by him when he received a return winner from the Spaniard. At the end of the match, Kyrgios threw the racket to the ground and it shot out, having to be dodged by one of the ball boys. The Australian later apologized to him and has revealed an exchange of messages with him on social networks to apologize and offer him a racket.
He already thinks about the revenge with Nadal
In the subsequent press conference, the Australian confessed that at times he felt that he would be able to put an end to Nadal’s unbeaten run, but in key moments the Spaniard played better and ended up praising him. «I felt that I would be the one to end Rafa’s streak, he was playing very well. I felt I did the right thing in the first set. I sat down with my coach, myself, and I had a game plan and everything was working. I don’t know what happened in that game at 5-4 and 30-15, that I kept repeating that point over and over and over again,” Kyrgios said.
«I kept competing and managed to win the second set and several points in the third. Then there was a game where I couldn’t do anything and another where I missed a backhand three inches. That’s what happens with Rafa all the time. He has played too well. He played several points well and came out with flying colors and that’s what makes him great,” he said about the Spaniard.
Made a new friend in the process 🤍 accidents happen but we can go out of our way to make things better 🥶👑 pic.twitter.com/G0gI5QpmBy
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) March 18, 2022
Later, on his social networks, he posted a few words for Rafa Nadal. “Too good, episode 10 coming soon,” said the Australian, thinking about an upcoming duel with the Spaniard, who continues to lead 6-3 in the particular face-to-face with the Canberra.
