"Playing Rafael Nadal at the US Open would be a nightmare" - Nick Kyrgios, others pick their preferred opponents for the year's final Slam
The dominance of the Big 3 — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — on the Grand Slam stage over the last decade and a half has been nothing short of tennis folklore. The three players share, between them, a total of 63 Grand Slam titles.
It should, therefore, not come as a surprise that players want to avoid seeing any of the three names next to their own when the draw is announced for any tournament — let alone Grand Slams.
A recent video posted on the US Open's official Twitter handle is a reminder of just that. Upon being asked to name a player they would want to play at the season's final Slam, one of the tour's most in-form players, Nick Kyrgios, was quick to say "not any of the Big 3."
Fresh off a Wimbledon final, his first at the Grand Slam level, Kyrgios said while he wanted to avoid all three, playing Rafael Nadal in New York would be a "nightmare". As for the question of who he wished to face, Kyrgios chose American Jack Sock.
"I don't really want to play any of the Big 3, you know," Kyrgios said. "Played Novak [Djokovic], I don't want to see him again. Rafael [Nadal] would be a nightmare there."
"I think me me versus Jack Sock would be amazing. You know? That would be awesome. Obviously we're brothers and even when tennis ends for both of us. We're going to be in contact still and be in each other's lives. So, I think it'd be cool to play each other," he added.
One match in Ashe.
We asked several top pros who they would want to face in the world's largest tennis stadium.
(Spoiler alert: the Big 3 were mentioned once or twice) https://t.co/lFnjWc6EI5
Also Checkout:- Nick Kyrgios Parents
"It used to be always Rafael Nadal" - Sebastian Korda on his favored opponent
Kyrgios, for one, has played against the likes of Nadal and Djokovic on a fair few occasions. He is also one of the few players to have a winning head-to-head against both players. Other youngsters, however, still fancy a contest against the Big 3.
Among others appearing in the one-minute-and-45-second video, young Americans Sebastian Korda and Ben Shelton picked both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as players that they would want to face in New York.
Korda said growing up, he always wanted to play Nadal. He was quick to add, however, that having faced the Spaniard a couple of times already, he was now hopeful of playing Federer.
"It used to be always Nadal," Korda said. "But I've played a couple of times now, and now I'd love to play Roger Federer."