Overview

• On the podcast, Kyrgios said he “hated” and “despised” Nadal whenever he saw him on or off the court
• He singled out Nadal’s lengthy pre-serve routines and slow pace between first and second serves as deeply off-putting
• Kyrgios credited the anger he felt toward Nadal with driving him to his best tennis against one of the sport’s top competitors
• These revelations come during his injury-enforced break and follow Nadal’s recent retirement from the professional tour
• Their nine-match rivalry, from the 2014 Wimbledon upset to the 2019 Wimbledon body-shot episode, has been cast in a new light by his candid July comments