3 occasions when Rafael Nadal lost his cool

Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players of all time. The Spaniard has enjoyed an extraordinary career for over two decades on the ATP tour.

He has won a total of 92 singles titles, including 22 Grand Slam titles, which is more than any other man in history. The King of Clay also has 36 Masters 1000 titles and an Olympic gold.

The 36-year-old had an excellent season in 2022, winning 39 out of 46 matches with four titles to his name. He won the Australian Open and the French Open while also triumphing at the Mexican Open and the Melbourne Summer Set 1.

Apart from his tennis skills, Rafael Nadal is also well-known for his classy demeanor on and off the court. He rarely loses his cool and has never smashed a single racket on the court.

However, there have been a few moments when the 36-year-old's frustration got the better of him. Let's take a look at the three such incidents.

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2019 Wimbledon vs Nick Kyrgios

Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios locked horns in the second round of Wimbledon in 2019, five years after the Aussie beat him at the grass-court Major.

The most notable moment of the match came in the third set when Kyrgios sent a powerful forehand straight towards Nadal. The Spaniard's racket prevented him from getting hurt, but he was far from pleased. He gave an angry stare to Kyrgios, who turned his back and started preparing for the next point.

The Aussie was unapologetic about the incident after the match, claiming that he was aiming for Nadal's chest.

"Why would I apologise? I didn’t hit him. Hit his racket, no? Why would I apologise? I won the point. I mean, the dude has got how many slams, how much money in the bank? I think he can take a ball to the chest, bro. I’m not going to apologise to him at all. Yeah, I was going for him. Yeah, I wanted to hit him square in the chest. Like, he’s got decent hands," Kyrgios said.

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2019 Davis Cup semifinal vs Great Britain

Rafael Nadal lost his cool during Spain's doubles match against Great Britain, which would determine the winner of the semifinal tie. The King of Clay was teamed up with Feliciano Lopez and the duo were up against Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski.

The Spanish duo won the opening set 7-6 (3) before the second set went to a tie-break. Skupski was serving at 2-2 and his serve was returned straight to the net by Nadal. Nadal and Lopez tried to challenge the call, but the chair umpire said Nadal took too long in asking for the review.

Nadal and the rest of the Spanish team were angered by the decision and protested. The King of Clay was heard saying, "Faster? Impossible" before resuming the match. Nadal and Lopez would have the last laugh as they won 7-6(3), 7-6(8) to propel Spain to the Davis Cup final where they beat Canada 2-0.

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2015 German Open Final vs Fabio Fognini

Rafael Nadal faced Fabio Fognini in the final of the 2015 German Open in Hamburg. The Spaniard won the first set, but the Italian fought hard in the second and led 5-4.

At this point, a heated argument broke out between the two players. Fognini was annoyed with Nadal for taking too much time during his serve, while the King of Clay was fed up with his opponent's constant complaints to the chair umpire regarding the same.

The Italian said:

"Don't bug me. If you always do the same, don't talk to me. You always do the same. I told him (chair umpire) in my service game, not in yours, and he hasn't done it. Don't bug me."

Nadal then said that Fognini would behave in the locker room as if nothing had happened.

"Then in the locker room, 'Hi, hi, everything is fine.' Ok," the Spaniard said.

The King of Clay eventually won the match 7-5, 7-5 to win the German Open.