Nick Kyrgios flaunts his favourite tag while calling Nadal and Djokovic ‘animals’

Nick Kyrgios calls Rafael Nadal and Novak 'animals' for winning multiple Major titles.

Nick Kyrgios, Rafael Nadal

Nick Kyrgios has completely evolved as a player in the last year. The Australian ended as the runner-up at Wimbledon 2022, which was a big break in his career. Speaking ahead of the 2023 Australian Open, the 19th seed spoke about the positive impact of his dream run at Wimbledon. He also lavished praised on Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, for having an absolute champion mindset.

There is no doubting Nick Kyrgios’ talent on court. In fact, it is quite surprising that after all these years on tour, he is yet to win a Major title. The 27-year-old stated that it was a big relief to reach the finals of Wimbledon 2022, and proving his critics wrong. He further added that he has become more consistent in terms of his results, and intends to continue with the same mindset in 2023.

“It was a special moment. It was more of a relief, hearing the outside noise everyday. I always knew my level was there, but to do that consistently was always the issue,” said Kyrgios about his Wimbledon 2022 run in the pre-tournament press conference.

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“Wimbledon 2022 showed me how stressful it is to get into a Slam final” : Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios admitted that it was quite stressful to reach a Major final, given his experience from the previous season. The Australian stated that it was quite challenging to manage a host of activities during the two weeks. Kyrgios also heaped praise on Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s for winning multiple Grand Slam titles. He termed them as ‘animals’ for achieving almost every feat in tennis.

“Wimbledon 2022 showed me how stressful it is to get into a Slam final, dealing with outside noises, media commitments, balancing on-court and off-court activities. These guys (Nadal and Djokovic) have won multiple Slams, they are just animals, not just physically, but also mentally,” said Kyrgios.

Nick Kyrgios revealed that he no longer engages himself in other activities prior to a Grand Slam event. Seeded 19th at the Australian Open 2023, the home favourite will face Roman Safiullin in the first round encounter on Monday. Last year, the 26-year-old went down fighting against the Russian, Daniil Medvedev in the second round in four sets.