Nick Kyrgios was pleasantly surprised to hear Pat Rafter’s prediction for his Australian Open run, declaring it “the nicest thing” that the Australian tennis legend ever said about him.
After missing the last two Australian Open editions due to foot and wrist surgeries, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist is set to make his long-awaited comeback at the start of the 2025 season in Brisbane. Ahead of his return, the 29-year-old highlighted that his top goal will be winning a Grand Slam as he believes that way he would shut up his doubters and critics for good.
And Rafter, who won two Grand Slams during his career, would not be surprised if the seven-time ATP champion made a splash in his first Grand Slam tournament back.
It should be noted that they have a history as the former world No. 1 last year slammed Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis’ doubles partnership as “a circus.” In a response from the former world No. 13, he was called “clueless.”
“You’d never write anyone off with the talent that Nick has. It’s pretty amazing. I really don’t know what he’s done, though. A year and a half off the game … it’s going to be interesting. I have no expectations or understanding about how he is going to go. I think it’s all up in the air. If he gets to the quarters, the semis, it wouldn’t surprise me. He’s got a massive game, but then can he keep it together? Can his body and mind hold together? They’re probably his really big hurdles,” Rafter told AAP.
Pat Rafter© YouTube screenshot
Kyrgios responds to Rafter; What the Australian tennis legend exactly said in the past?
While scrolling Instagram, the Australian stumbled upon what the former two-time US Open champion had to say about him. And evidently, he liked it but he was also a bit surprised.
“Nicest thing Pat Rafter has ever said about me or my career haha,” the 29-year-old wrote on his Instagram Story.
Nick Kyrgios Instagram Story© Nick Kyrgios – Instagram
Before this happened, the two publicly traded shots. In 2022 January, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis won the Australian Open men’s doubles title. Throughout their triumphant run, they were having fun and every of their match was pretty much a show for the public.
However, when addressing their partnership a year later, Rafter had some strong words about the Australian duo, claiming that the locker room was annoyed with their behavior.
“It’s an interesting one that is, because the players are really upset about it. I don’t know how that operates with them and doesn’t really bother me either way. It’s a bit of a circus … doubles is a great event, it’s a lot of fun, and it helps you with singles, but it’s not where it’s at. But at the same time, it’s entertainment,” the 51-year-old said on the Happy Slam podcast in 2023 January.
Kyrgios wasn’t impressed at all with those comments.
“He would have absolutely zero idea on what the locker room thinks. Me and kokk have great relationships with most of the players on tour. Guy is clueless,” the seven-time ATP winner wrote on X at the time.
Rafter noted one more thing about Kyrgios’ upcoming Australian Open
After stating that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the 29-year-old make a really deep run at Melbourne Park, the former world No. 1 also noted that he wouldn’t be surprised either if the Australian exited the tournament very early.
“He’s got a massive game. But then can he keep it together? Can his body hold up? Can his mind hold together? They’re probably his really big hurdles, especially his body. If you don’t play competitively, God, it’s a completely different thing than to training. So I really don’t know what to expect from him. I think it’s all up in the air,” Rafter said.
“If you go there to see him play, it will be interesting to see. I don’t know quite what the expectation is from the pundits but my expectation is there is none. When I say there is no expectation, if he gets to the quarters, the semis, it wouldn’t surprise me. If he loses the first round, it wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t know.”
Returning from two surgeries and a two-year absence is everything but an easy thing to do. However, there have been reports indicating that the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up was ready to play for months but he just wanted to take it very slowly and invest everything into getting as ready as possible for the 2025 season.
In the past, the 29-year-old’s best Australian Open run came in 2015 when he made the quarterfinal before losing to Andy Murray.
Tennis World USA