Preview: Nadal & Kyrgios Face Off At Wimbledon

All eyes on will be on Centre Court on Thursday as third seed Rafael Nadal takes on Nick Kyrgios on Day 4 at Wimbledon. Second seed Roger Federer also features in second-round action against #NextGenATP Brit Jay Clarke.

“He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time. I go into that match as an unbelievable underdog. I know if I play the right type of tennis, I can have success against him,” said Kyrgios. “I have to come with the right attitude and be willing to fight. If not, it’s going to be butter for him.”

The contrast in playing styles and personalities between Nadal and Kyrgios have made them one of the most entertaining rivalries on the ATP Tour. Nadal’s deliberate and explosive baseline play is a stark opposite to the trick shots and flashy all-court hitting from Kyrgios.

They’re even in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry at 3-3, but Kyrgios won their most recent battle by saving three match points in an epic second-round clash in Acapulco. The Aussie used that momentum to score back-to-back wins over John Isner and Alexander Zverev for the title. Kyrgios also prevailed in their only previous grass-court meeting five years ago at Wimbledon, when he made full use of his wild card to stun the Spaniard in the fourth round.

Four of the six previous meetings between Nadal and Kyrgios have taken places before the quarter-finals, when Nadal is arguably is at his most vulnerable before sinking his teeth into the business end of tournaments. On the eight occasions when Nadal has cleared the second week at Wimbledon, he’s made it to the championship match in five of them.

Although facing Nadal early in a tournament might be a more preferred option, it’s hardly an ideal one. But while many players would be disappointed to see Nadal in the second round, Kyrgios is relishing the opportunity.

“As soon as the draw came out, I was super happy that I saw him in my section. It’s more exciting,” said Kyrgios. “When you’re a kid, you want to play the best players in the world on [what] I think is the best court in the world. This is something that I can’t take for granted. There’s no guarantee I’m going to be here again in this position. I’m going to grasp it with both hands, go out there and give it my best shot.”

Apart from his early Acapulco loss to Kyrgios, Nadal has been a model of consistency over the past 12 months. He’s reached at least the semi-finals in every other event he’s played and clinched his 12th Roland Garros title last month (d. Thiem). His dominant opening-round win on Tuesday over Yuichi Sugita made a statement that he’s ready to contend for a third crown at The All England Club.

But as always, Nadal isn’t looking past his next match. Given Kyrgios’ penchant for big upsets on big courts, the Spaniard said he will bring the same intensity as if they were playing for the title.

“I’ll play against a top talent player, a very dangerous player,” Nadal said. “He’s a very dangerous opponent. Of course, [for a] second round it’s a super tough one. I know that. I need to be at my 100 per cent. I’m going to fight for it.”

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The No. 1 Court will see eight-time champion Federer face Clarke, a 20-year-old wild card who won his maiden Grand Slam singles match this week against qualifier Noah Rubin. Clarke has won two ATP Challenger Tour titles in the past 12 months, but knows that the World No. 3 will present the toughest test of his career.

“You could be embarrassed. He could obviously kill any player… That’s never nice,” Clarke said. “I’ll go out there and I wouldn’t play above myself, I’ll just play my game. That’s the best test to actually see where I’m at.”

Federer’s Wimbledon success is well-documented. The Swiss makes his 21st consecutive appearances at The Championships and holds a 96-12 career record. He’s lost before the quarter-finals just once in his past 17 visits.

Read More: Five Keys To Federer’s SW19 Domination

Other major matches on Day 4 include eighth-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori taking on Brit Cameron Norrie and ninth-seeded John Isner squaring off with Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin.

ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY, 4 JULY 2019

Centre Court start 13:00
[8] Kei Nishikori vs Cameron Norrie
WTA match
[3] Rafael Nadal vs Nick Kyrgios

No. 1 Court start 13:00
WTA match
[2] Roger Federer vs Jay Clarke
WTA match

No. 2 Court start 11:00
WTA match
[18] Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Daniel Evans
WTA match
[17] Matteo Berrettini vs Marcos Baghdatis

No. 3 Court start 11:00
WTA match
[9] John Isner vs Mikhail Kukushkin
[12] Fabio Fognini vs Marton Fucsovics

Court 12 start 11:00
WTA match
[12] Marin Cilic vs Joao Sousa
WTA match
[24] Diego Schwartzman vs Dominik Koepfer

Court 18 start 11:00
[25] Alex de Minaur vs Steve Johnson
Two WTA matches

Click here to view the schedule for all other courts.