Nick Kyrgios wasn’t impressed with Pat Cash’s recent take on the behavior of the Australian Open crowd, ripping the Australian tennis legend as “another old head making a stupid comment.”
Cash, who made back-to-back Australian Open finals in 1987 and 1988, took an exception with the Australian crowds ahead of the Australian Open, saying that they have gotten “a little bit out of control” over the past decade. Also, Cash said there is nothing wrong in cheering a fellow Australian but also added that every player is an individual for himself and does not represent the entire nation.
Ahead of this year’s Australian Open, Kyrgios also candidly shared his thoughts on Nadal’s Australian Open withdrawal, revealing he was left “heartbroken” after hearing that Nadal would not be able to compete at Melbourne Park.
Nadal, who sustained an injury to his psoas muscle during the 2023 Australian Open, made his return from hip surgery in the first week of the 2024 season at the Brisbane International. Nadal started his Brisbane comeback in a very impressive way, beating Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler in straight sets in back-to-back matches.
Just when the hype surrounding Nadal’s comeback was starting to heat up, the 22-time Grand Slam champion required a medical timeout for a left leg issue during his Brisbane quarterfinal match against Jordan Thompson. Nadal was able to play out the entire match but he ended up losing in three sets to Jordan Thompson after previously missing out on three match points in the second set.
After arriving in Melbourne and having scans to determine the extent of his injury, Nadal learned that he had “a micro tear” on his leg muscle. When revealing the diagnosis, Nadal also announced his Australian Open withdrawal since playing in best-of-five-sets in Melbourne in that condition would have been too much for him.
“I know how hard he would have worked in the last year getting healthy,” Kyrgios said.
“He wants to just play grand slams. That’s always been my fear is going out of the sport not on your terms where your body starts to tell you you’re maybe past it. And Rafa is someone who is so important to the sport and it just takes time. It broke my heart seeing that.”
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