Nick Kyrgios was exposed by Alexander Bublik for having a “creepy” Rafael Nadal picture on his phone. The hilarious revelation came as the two tennis stars were discussing the monumental challenge of having to face Nadal.
Former world No.13 Kyrgios and current world No.23 Bublik appeared on UTS Talk Show’s ‘All on the table’ last week. The pair debated over the notion of saying players ‘should have won’ certain games, or used different approaches in certain matches, with Bublik disagreeing with the Australian’s benefit of hindsight.
That drifted into a conversation about tactics and mindsets when facing juggernauts in the game such as Nadal, who Kyrgios described as a “beast” to play against. And talk of the 22-time Grand Slam winner prompted Bublik to bring up a hilarious anecdote about once spotting Nadal as Kyrgios’s phone background, highlighting the maverick’s obsession with the Spaniard.
Bublik said: “I remember we were sitting in some bar and he [Kyrgios] had the creepy face of Rafa as his phone wallpaper,” prompting a surprised reaction from Kyrgios, who responded with: “What?!”
The Kazakhstani continued: “I remember clearly because you were playing him that day. You hit him in the chest, remember? You had this big picture of him [imitates Nadal being hit in the chest]” before the pair broke into laughter.
Bublik added: “We were sitting next to each other, I had lost a match, and Nick came up to me and said ‘You should’ve tried harder’. Then like every 20 minutes he said ‘You should’ve won today.’”
The picture of Nadal in question was an infamous flashpoint during their meeting at Wimbledon in 2019. Kyrgios had deliberately driven a ball straight at Nadal in the third set of their fiery match.
Nadal managed to get his racket in the way but complained that the shot was dangerous. Kyrgios refused to apologise – but his glowing comments about Nadal now indicate that his anger stemmed from tremendous respect for a thoroughly world-class opponent.
Kyrgios recalled: “I played him in Rome one year and I lost. I couldn’t walk the next day. He was different. I was like ‘thank f*** I didn’t win because I wouldn’t be able to play today’. His physicality was crazy. He’s a beast.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk