"Novak Djokovic doesn't make you feel as bad as Roger Federer does at times" - Nick Kyrgios when asked if the Serb is the toughest opponent he has faced

Nick Kyrgios [inset] reckons Roger Federer [left] is the toughest opponent he has faced.

Nick Kyrgios may have lost his maiden Grand Slam final to Novak Djokovic, but the Aussie still feels Roger Federer is the toughest opponent he has faced.

Djokovic handed Kyrgios a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) defeat in Sunday's Wimbledon final. Despite the outcome, the mercurial Aussie still leads Djokovic 2-1 in the head-to-head.

Kyrgios has had less success against eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, facing defeat in six of their seven encounters.

During his post-match press conference, Kyrgios was asked if he finds Djokovic the toughest opponent he has faced. The 27-year-old answered in the negative and pointed out that he had a chance to upset the Serb in the final.

Kyrgios explained how Roger Federer has the innate ability to humiliate and demotivate his opponents on court with his speed and gifted shotmaking.

"I wouldn't say that. Like I said before, I had a chance to win the match. He doesn't make you feel as bad as Federer does at times," Nick Kyrgios said. "I think Federer, out of the other three guys, Federer can make you feel really bad, like he makes you want to leave the court. He can make things seem really quick and that the court's really small."

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Kyrgios believes Nadal and Djokovic allow their opponents a bit more breathing space than Federer does.

"Nadal and Djokovic, they allow you to play a little bit from the back and if you're not playing great, then you struggle," said the Aussie. "But Federer can really take it to you and get you off the court real quick."

"Against players like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or even Roger, you feel that if you win the first set, you still have to climb Mount Everest" - Nick Kyrgios

Day Fourteen: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

During the press conference, Nick Kyrgios pointed out that beating the Big 3 in the best-of-five format is an entirely different task than in the shorter format.

Kyrgios had beaten the 21-time Major winner twice ahead of Sunday's final, but both those matches were best-of-three sets.

"The best of five sets is much better. In the previous two meetings, it was the best of three sets," Kyrgios said. "Against players like Novak, Rafa or even Roger, you feel that if you win the first set, you still have to climb Mount Everest to be able to to win against them. The best of three sets is somewhat easier."

Kyrgios also revealed that he had begun to feel better physically towards the end of the match. However, he rued that he couldn't play the tie-break well.

"I feel that if I had played better in the tiebreak, I would have had a chance to win the set and have extended the match a little more," said the Aussie. "I started to feel better physically when the match was ending. It was very odd."

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