Nadal makes Kyrgios’ three-man rivals list but Djokovic left off

Nick Kyrgios has named Stefanos Tsitsipas, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka as his three biggest rivals in tennis. The Aussie has had on-court feuds with all of the aforementioned and it is therefore no surprise that they make it on his list.

Tsitsipas and Kyrgios met in a bad-tempered third-round clash at Wimbledon last year which spilled out off the court. After the match, the Greek star described Kyrgios’ approach to tennis as “uneducated”, and likened his attitude to that of an ‘NBA basketball’ player.

Tsitispas’ comments were criticised by some afterwards, but the world No 5 affirmed that his comments had been “misinterpreted”. “It has come to my attention that some individuals have misinterpreted my comments regarding Nick Kyrgios… insinuating racism where none exists,” Tsitsipas wrote on social media in response to the backlash.

“I want to emphasize that I harbour no prejudice towards anyone based on their background, ethnicity, or interests. I deeply regret if my words were misinterpreted or caused offence, as that was never my intention.”

Kyrgios’ rivalry with Wawrinka is also well-documented and filled with plenty of controversy. The 28-year-old was fined heavily for a vulgar remark about Wawrinka’s girlfriend at the time, Donna Vekic, while on the court at the Canadian Open back in 2015.

During the second-round clash Kyrgios was heard telling the three-time Grand Slam winner, “[Thanasi] Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend. Sorry to tell you that mate.” Kyrgios later claimed that Warwinka had provoked him into saying it by being “lippy”.

“He was getting a bit lippy with me,” he said. “Kind of in the heat of the moment, I don’t know. I just said it.” In response Warwinka told assembled media after the match: “I just hope the ATP takes big measures against him. He’s young but that’s no excuse … every match, he behaves very badly.

“The problem is he doesn’t just behave badly towards himself, he behaves badly towards the people around, the other players, the ball kids, the umpires. I really hope the ATP will take major action against him this time.”

Kyrgios’ rivalry with Nadal is a little less fiery than his with Wawrinka but it hit boiling point back in 2019 at the Mexican Open when the Aussie recorded an upset victory over the then World No 2. Nadal was complimentary about Kyrgios’ skills but criticised his attitude.

“He’s a player who has enormous talent and could be winning Grand Slams or fighting for the number one ranking,” said Nadal in the post-match press conference. “He lacks respect for the crowd, his opponent and towards himself.

“I don’t think he’s a bad guy, but he lacks a little respect for the public and the rival.” Kyrgios didn’t take kindly to Nadal’s words. “He doesn’t know anything about me,” he said in response to his rival’s comments. “So, I’m not going to listen at all. That’s the way I play.

“He’s got his own game. I’ve got my game. We played well. That’s the sport. People are different so I’m not going to take that into consideration at all.”