"I never thought I would be as good as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal... then I was there, it just happened straight away" - Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios has claimed he never could've envisioned himself reaching the level of tennis legends like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Australian also reflected on his journey from a junior tennis player to achieving success on a professional level.
In a recent appearance on the Tennis Insider Club podcast, Kyrgios opened up about how his mother initially introduced him to tennis to help him stay active and lose some weight. However, he disclosed that the sport evolved past a leisure activity when his childhood coach spotted his talent early on.
Although he rose to the World No. 1 ranking in junior tennis, won the boys' singles title at the 2013 Australian Open, and clinched the Wimbledon junior doubles title that same year, the 29-year-old confessed that he didn't anticipate becoming a professional player.
Nick Kyrgios also emphasized that he never imagined becoming as good as Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. But his win at the 2013 Nature's Way Sydney Tennis International Challenger event at just 17 years of age positioned him among some of the biggest names in the sport.
Despite his doubts about matching the standards of Federer or Nadal, the 29-year-old highlighted his meteoric rise to their level, likely referring to his shock upset over the Spaniard in the fourth round of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.
"I never thought I was going to become a pro. I was playing from seven and then I got to about 15 and I was, you know, going up the ranks, obviously playing a lot of junior events and then won a couple of junior doubles Grand Slams. And then I was the No. 1 junior in the world. But I never thought I would still be as good as Federer at the time. Nadal," Kyrgios said (02:40).
"And then I won a Challenger at 17, I think And then I saw the list of people that had done that and it was like Raonic, Federer, Dimitrov. I just laughed, I was like there's no way that Nick Kyrgios is going to be at that level. And then a year later it was, I was there, it just happened straight away," he added.
"I don't think Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic ever thought they'd lose to me" - Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios is among the select few players who can boast about the unique achievement of having beaten Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic in their careers.
In a conversation with Naomi Osaka on the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios podcast, the Australian expressed his belief that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic likely never expected to lose to him, given his "unprofessionalism."
"I don't think Federer, Nadal or Djokovic ever thought they'd lose to me. I think they look back and they're like, "How the hell did we manage to lose to him?"" Kyrgios told Osaka.
"I guess I think about how unprofessional I was at that time. I didn't give my full self to the game. I wasn't training all the time and it just happened really early in my career," he added.
Although Nick Kyrgios enjoys a 2-1 winning record against Novak Djokovic, he trails against both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Swiss has a 6-1 edge over the Australian, while Nadal holds a 6-3 lead in their head-to-head record.