"Very fair in my opinion" - Nick Kyrgios reignites Wimbledon 2019 feud against Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal's second-round match against Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon in 2019 caused a bit of controversy after the Aussie struck a return straight at the Spaniard's chest.
Nadal eventually won that match with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) scoreline but invited quite a few scathing remarks from Kyrgios in the post-match press conference.
A couple of years down the line, Kyrgios has reignited that controversy by stressing that he still considers the shot to be "very fair".
The Aussie, who has often struggled to see eye-to-eye with Nadal in the past, took to his Instagram story to repost a video of the shot. Kyrgios also added the following caption to the story.
"Very fair in my opinion," Nick Kyrgios wrote.
Watch: The point between Nadal and Kyrgios at Wimbledon 2019
While it seems that the ball struck Nadal at a ferocious pace, it is pertinent to note that passing shots are usually hit with great racket-head speed. Having said that, passing shots are generally always struck far beyond the opponent's reach, unlike Kyrgios, who visibly aimed for Nadal's upper torso.
Players who end up hitting their opponents' bodies with their returns usually apologize to them immediately. But the fact that Kyrgios opted against doing so irked Nadal.
What did Rafael Nadal & Nick Kyrgios say about this point in 2019?
Following his win over Nick Kyrgios in 2019, Rafael Nadal doubled down on the Aussie's return during his post-match press conference. Nadal pointed out that Kyrgios has a tendency to do "dangerous" things, stressing that the venomous return could have struck a line judge or someone in the crowd.
“I don't say Nick does this stuff to bother the opponent, but [it] is true that sometimes he's dangerous. When he hit the ball like this, [it] is dangerous," Rafael Nadal said.“[It] is not dangerous for me, [it] is dangerous for a line referee, dangerous for a crowd. When you hit the ball like this, you don't know where the ball goes.”
Nick Kyrgios, meanwhile, refused to take the blame for his shot, claiming that he was targeting Nadal's body with his return. The Aussie even pointed out that Nadal, being the player that he was, could take a shot to his "chest".
"Why would I apologize? I won the point. I was going for him. I wanted to hit him," Kyrgios had said during his post-match presser. "The dude has got how many Slams, how much money in the bank account? I think he can take a ball to the chest.”