‘I respect them more now’ admits Nick Kyrgios on ‘mental animals’ the Big Three
Nick Kyrgios has revealed that his respect for the ‘Big Three’ of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer has only grown since his run to the Wimbledon final.
Particularly, the 27-year-old referenced that final with Djokovic which saw the Serb add a seventh Wimbledon title to his accolades by winning in four sets.
“It’s crazy, after I lost the final to Novak it didn’t hit me,” Kyrgios said in an interview on the official Citi Open Instagram. “It actually hit me a week after that I got to a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon and lost.
“It is sad in a way, but it has been great. It has been a hectic couple of weeks since the final.
“I think Wimbledon is the biggest title ever. I even had a chat with my team, that I thought if I won Wimbledon, I’d really struggle after that for motivation.
“I really don’t know what more I would have to prove as a tennis player [if I won Wimbledon]. It’s exciting, I still look back and I still take so much confidence from it. I was one hurdle away from the trophy.”
Though he only fell at the final hurdle, that hurdle can be the toughest to overcome, especially when you come up against the likes of Djokovic, Nadal or Federer there.
As such, Kyrgios paid tribute to the men who between them have 63 Slam titles.
“You just have to be a mental animal to win a Grand Slam,” he continued. “Novak, Federer, and Nadal, I think I give them a bit more respect now.
“Playing one of them in the final, I felt like [Djokovic] was fresh, felt like he [hadn’t been] playing tennis for the last two weeks, never seen him rattled.”
Kyrgios returns to action at the Atlanta Open this week, and could face compatriot and friend Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round there.
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