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Published 09:38 IST, January 26th 2020

Kyrgios says 'layer of respect' with Nadal despite feud

Australia's Nick Kyrgios said he had "respect" for Rafael Nadal despite their personal differences after he set up a last-16 match with the top seed.

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Australia's Nick Kyrgios said he had "respect" for Rafael Nadal despite their personal differences after he set up a last-16 match with the top seed at the Australian Open on Saturday. Kyrgios played down disagreements with the world number one -- against whom he has a 2-1 record on hard courts -- after some barbed exchanges between the two.

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Kyrgios on Rafael Nadal

"Regardless, if we don't like each other or whatever, I think there's a layer of respect," Kyrgios said after his five-set thriller with Russia's Karen Khachanov."He's one of the greatest of all time. I also read that he thinks I'm good for the sport."There's a layer of respect that we both have for each other. Doesn't necessarily mean we like each other, but we're going to go out there and give contrasting styles and personalities." 
 

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Kyrgios beat Khachanov 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (6/8), 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (10/8) over 4hr 26min -- the longest match of his career -- to set up a last-16 meeting with the 19-time Grand Slam winner.Last year Kyrgios won a bad-tempered match with Nadal in Mexico, hitting underarm serves and complaining about his slow play -- prompting the Spaniard to complain that he "lacks respect".The 24-year-old later told an interviewer that Nadal was "super salty", and he mimicked his signature serving routine when warned for slow play during his round-two win over Gilles Simon. However, Kyrgios, who lost to Nadal in four sets in round two last year at Wimbledon, said both players were aware of each other's qualities.

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'At the end of the day, we're two different tennis players': Kyrgios

"At the end of the day, we're two different tennis players. We go about it completely different," he said."After Wimbledon, I lost, I got beaten by the better player. I shook his hand, looked him in the eye, and said, 'Too good'." Nadal earlier gave a cool response when asked whether he liked Kyrgios.

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"When he does stuff that in my opinion is not good, I don't like," said the Spaniard."When he plays good tennis and he shows passion for this game, he is a positive player for our tour."When he's ready to play his best tennis and play with passion, is one of these guys. When he's doing the other stuff, of course, I don't like." 

 (Image Courtesy: AP)

09:38 IST, January 26th 2020