'Off his nut': Nick Kyrgios' massive night out before beating Rafa Nadal
Nick Kyrgios and 19-time Grand Slam champ Rafael Nadal have enjoyed some legendary matches, but the Aussie has revealed his preparation for one of them was less than ideal.
Kyrgios has been seen before enjoying a drink the night before a big match, but his latest revelation that he ‘sent it’ before demolishing Nadal had his friend in stitches.
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The Aussie firebrand was speaking to his friend and podcast host Elliot Loney when the story emerged of Kyrgios’ preparations.
“I remember, you and I, I think we were in Montreal,” Loney said on his podcast.
“You’d gone to America, and I think the night before you played Rafa, or two nights before, we had a night out. You, me, and a few other of our mates, and we sent it.
“And you sent it hard, and then I remember being in the hotel room; I was a full-blown foetus, a corpse. I turn on the TV, and there you were on the TV dusting up Rafael Nadal on a hard-court, and I could not believe it.
“I was saying to my mate, I said, ‘I cannot believe Nick is doing this. Not only is he playing one of the best players in the world, and dismantling them, but he was out with us no more than 24 hours ago, off his nut.’
‘The stars aligned’: Kyrgios
Kyrgios confirmed the story, while sharing a laugh at how he pulled it off.
“We went out, we had a great time,” Kyrgios added.
“I’m pretty sure we went pretty hard. And you know, a day-and-a-half later I saw the draw, and you know, I’m like, ‘I’ve got to play Rafa.’
“And I mean nothing changes, you know. I have already told you what I think of these players; I don’t give them respect just because of who they are, what they’ve achieved.
“I just went out there and said, ‘Look, I’m going to play big. I can’t really move, I know that I can’t really move because I’m still probably hungover. So I’m going to have to serve really big, and just play super aggressive.’
“And the stars aligned for that night; it’s that simple, really.”
Neither Kyrgios or Loney revealed what match they were referring too.
Kyrgios has a 3-5 head-to-head record against the Spaniard.
The likely event the pair mentioned was Cincinnati where Kyrgios won in straight-sets back in 2017.
Kyrgios was also involved in a three-set victory over Nadal in a fiery encounter in Acapulco in 2019.
It’s not the first time Kyrgios had a drink before a Nadal match.
Last year, Kyrgios was spotted by a number of journos drinking at the the Dog & Fox just hours before the Nadal match at Wimbledon.
