Rafa Nadal reveals how his advice helped Roger Federer defeat Nick Kyrgios at Laver Cup
What's the story?
During the recently-concluded Laver Cup, Roger Federer was struggling against opponent Nick Kyrgios in the final encounter. He dropped the first set to the Australian 6-4, and was one set away from losing the match.
After the set, Federer and his teammates held an emergency on-court meeting to discuss how to get back into the match. Rafael Nadal spoke to Federer and when play resumed, Roger promptly cranked up his game another notch to turn the tables on the Aussie.
Later in the post-match press conference, Nadal shared what advice he had given the Swiss maestro. "Just to be a bit more aggressive. He is playing great and controlling the points from the baseline. But we thought that he could be a bit more aggressive on the forehand and Roger agreed," said Nadal.
In case you didn't know...
The Laver Cup was enjoyed by fans around the world and was a resounding success. Losing captain John McEnroe even paid tribute to Team Europe who won 15-9; the legendary tennis player said it was an unbelievable weekend.
The heart of the matter
Federer overcame Kyrgios in the final match, which went right down to the wire. After losing the first set, the Swiss maestro came back to win the second 7-6, with the tiebreak going the distance at 8-6 as well.
In the match tiebreak, both players gave it their all but it was Federer who held his nerve and won 11-9. After the match, Kyrgios was devastated and even reduced to tears as he rued missing out on a match point opportunity.
What's next?
Nadal's next tournament is the China Open in Beijing. The Spaniard will be seeded number 1 for the tournament and he last won it in 2005 after defeating Guillermo Coria.
Meanwhile, Federer's next tournament is likely to be the Shanghai Masters, after which he will play in Basel and Paris.
Author's Take
One has to admit, watching Nadal and Federer on the same end of the court was a dream come true. It is also great to see that the two players have such strong camaraderie with each other that they are also willing to offer each other advice on the other's game.