Nick Kyrgios has played and defeated some greats of the game during his career on the ATP Tour.
In 2014, Kyrgios beat Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of Wimbledon, bursting onto the scene and clinching the biggest win of his life on the sport’s grandest stage.
Since turning professional in 2013, he has also earned wins against the likes of Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic.
Though he has conquered each member of the ‘big four’, there is one who Kyrgios once claimed was the hardest to overcome.
The tennis legend that Nick Kyrgios found the hardest to play
Appearing on an episode of ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson’ in 2023, when asked who the best player he ever played against was, the Australian responded: “It’s a hard one.
“Because when I came on to the scene, I beat Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic for the first time. Like, I played either one of them, and then I played them all multiple times now.
“I don’t know if this is a boxing thing too, but in tennis, like, styles make fights.
“Federer could make you feel really s——, and no matter where you played him in the world, like, he was the fan favourite.
“Play him in Europe, America, Australia—everyone wanted Federer to win all the time. So I think Federer, for me, was probably the hardest to play.
“Like, Novak’s, I think, the greatest of all time, but for me, Federer was the hardest.”
Kyrgios’ head-to-head record against Roger Federer
Kyrgios met Federer seven times on the ATP Tour, and won their first career clash, which came in the round of 32 at the Madrid Open in 2015.
After that, however, he lost their next six clashes, suffering consecutive defeats to the Swiss legend from 2017 to 2019.
Federer won their bouts at the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open and emerged victorious in all three of their ties at the Laver Cup.
In their only matchup at a Grand Slam, the 20-time major champion beat Kyrgios in straight sets to advance to the fourth round of the 2018 US Open.
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