When the world No. 1 clashed with No. 26, the result would have been predictable. Indeed, Rafael Nadal got past Nick Kyrgios at the Rod Laver Arena, but as the score - 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) - would indicate, it wasn't a walk in the park for the Spaniard. He sweated for every point, specifically true in the last two sets, before calling it a day.
It was clear that after the match, two winners remain standing on the hardcourt. Nadal won the game, and he will continue on to the competition.
The younger Kyrgios will bow out, but he will exit with his chip up. There is no denying he had won the respect of the tennis world, and that of his court nemesis.
Nadal saw in Kyrgios an impassioned play, the latter obviously unmindful of the punishing Australian summer. It could be that the Aussie has been pumped up by the thought of displaying brilliant flashes before a home crowd, but it's more of raw love for the game.
As Metro said, the 25-year-old was so into the game that he fought until the bitter end. He proved that any point he could have dashed the dream of Nadal to pocket another grand slam win.
And Nadal can only agree. He did concede Kyrgios made life difficult for him during the match.
"He's one of the highest talents we have on our tour and I like the Nick Kyrgios of this tournament. It has been a very tough match," Nadal was reported as saying.
"I encourage him to keep working like this," the Spaniard added.
The Guardian described Kyrgios, whose past on-court antics sadly eclipsed his genuine capabilities as a fearsome slugger, as both "irrepressible and resilient." There were moments during the game that the Aussie nearly got the better of his foe. In the end, though, he was outmatched by a Nadal that is all familiar to winning.
Make no mistake, though, because, in the entire stretch of the match, which lasted three hours and 38 minutes, Kyrgios proved to the world that he could play a spirited game, and he can equal the class normally attributed to the likes of Nadal and Roger Federer, the publication said.
Sure, Nadal emerged as the winner, but Kyrgios won the hearts of many. The latter came up short, but the spectators in and out of the area thought otherwise.
In a post-match interview, Kyrgios said losing to Nadal was, of course, a shattering experience, but he noted that he had made progress. It's just there has to be a better man in a tennis match, and it was Nadal at that time.
"Rafa was really good. Played too good...He makes you play the extra ball," Tennis World reported the Aussie as saying.
