Nick Kyrgios on his mindset while facing Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal: "I wanted to prove that a dude can beat people that looked like gods"

Nick Kyrgios recently gave fans a peek into his mindset while facing off against Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Kyrgios is currently sidelined from the court as he recovers from a knee injury that halted his 2023 season. However, he remains close to the sport, as evidenced by his 2024 Australian Open participation, albeit as an analyst for the Tennis Channel.

The Aussie recently held a Q&A session on his Instagram account where one user asked him:

"What goes through your mind when playing against players like Rafa or Novak?"

Nick Kyrgios replied by saying that he wanted to show the world that other players can defeat Djokovic and Nadal, who are looked at as "gods" in the tennis world.

"Honestly, I just wanted to prove to the world that a dude can get up and beat people that are looked at like gods lol," Kyrgios wrote.

Kyrgios rose to fame after defeating then World No. 1 Nadal in the fourth round of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. Since then, they have met on eight more occasions, with the 22-time Grand Slam champion holding a 6-3 lead in their head-to-head record.

Interestingly, Kyrgios is among the only 13 players (active or not) to have a winning record against Djokovic. Their first encounter was in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Mexican Open, where the Aussie won. He also had the last laugh in their next encounter at the 2017 Indian Wells Masters (fourth round), with the Serb managing to come out on top only once at Wimbledon 2022 (final).

Nick Kyrgios: "I have spent my entire life trying to be something that I'm not"

The Aussie recently launched a video podcast called 'Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios' in collaboration with Naomi Osaka's media company, Hana Kuma. He has invited Gordon Ramsay, Jemele Hill and Jay Shetty on the show so far.

During his interaction with Shetty, Kyrgios delved deep into how he found happiness and began to embrace his true self when he let go of trying to be a "classy tennis player."

"The more that I was normal, and put into like well-behaved, a good, classy, not rough round the edges, just a normal tennis player, that was for me going against the grain," Kyrgios said (at 04:20).

"I actually have spent my entire life trying to be something that I'm not, which was being a classy tennis player. But then when I started to be myself, I was starting to find some happiness," he continued.

About the author

Pritha is one of the driving forces behind Sportskeeda's tennis coverage, serving as an assistant content manager and editor. What began as a casual escape from her tiring biotechnology degree course in early 2022 has blossomed into a passion she loves, cherishes, and breathes every day.

Pritha’s love for the sport was spawned by her dad who showed her clips of "GOAT" Steffi Graf’s matches. Despite a thwarted dream of playing professionally due to injury, she finds solace in reporting the sport, while also mentoring other writers to ensure every article is error-free and top-notch. She double-checks credible sources, such as the tournament/player handles and big tennis media outlets, and gives proper credit where required.

Pritha's journey at Sportskeeda is marked by more than 2000 articles and close to 16 million views, with the "dream-come-true" moment of having her article shared by Chris Evert serving as a highlight of her career. A lifelong Wimbledon fan, Pritha also adores Rafael Nadal, Elena Rybakina, and Naomi Osaka.

When she's not seeking unique angles to elevate tennis coverage at Sportskeeda, she loves to channel her inner astrophysics "nerd" by exploring new sci-fi series and movies. A big Lionel Messi, Lewis Hamilton, and Randy Orton fan, she is always ready to engage in sports conversations anytime, anywhere, albeit not without a cup of coffee.

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Edited by Pritha Ghosh