Nadal, Kyrgios feud worsens

RAFAEL Nadal has fired another dig at Nick Kyrgios as their feud is reignited at Indian Wells.

The pair fell out after Kyrgios won their Mexican Open second-round clash last week.

The Australian was controversial in victory, serving underarm and constantly geeing up the crowd.

Kyrgios was booed during the match and even more when the memorable win was wrapped up.

The 23-year-old went on to beat Stan Wawrinka and Alexander Zverev to win the tournament in Acapulco.

Nadal claimed Kyrgios “lacked respect” following their clash and he has now claimed the youngster needs to set a better example to fellow starlets.

“Everybody is free to do whatever they want, but at end of the day, in my opinion, he has an impact on the new generations,” Nadal said.

“He’s young, he’s a famous player and in my opinion we need to show good values for the kids.

“I heard that he took it very personally. I really didn’t see it but somebody told me he put some stuff on his social networks.

“I don’t feel disrespected by him serving underhand. He is free to do whatever the rules allow him to do.

“I never said nothing too negative about Nick, even if he took it more personally.”

Nadal is in Indian Wells this week looking to end a seven-month trophy drought.

However, he was forced to cut his 2018 season short due to a string of injuries.

But he is now feeling good and ready to strengthen his world No 2 position.

“More or less I should not be unhappy, all the things I went through the last four to five months to be where I am,” he added.

“Too many issues that happened to my body the last year and a half – but I managed well to still be competitive and be in a good position in the rankings and fighting for the most important events – that’s important for my mental health too.”

– The Express