Nick Kyrgios recalls infamous Wimbledon 2019 point where he hit Rafael Nadal at the net: "Was worth nearly pegging him"

Nick Kyrgios recently reacted to a short video from his blockbuster second-round match against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2019, which documented him purposefully hitting the Spaniard at the net.

Kyrgios is currently rehabilitating a wrist injury that forced him out of this year's Wimbledon and US Open. The Aussie has played only one match on the ATP tour this year and is eyeing a return to competitive tennis shortly.

During his time away from the sport, Nick Kyrgios has been a regular figure on Instagram. When the 28-year-old is not giving positive updates to his fans regarding his recovery, he is busy reposting thrilling points from his past matches.

On Wednesday (November 8), he took to his Instagram stories to express pride at hitting a forehand at Rafael Nadal's frame during their second-round encounter at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.

"Was worth nearly pegging him," the Aussie wrote, followed by a bunch of emojis.

A screen capture of Kyrgios' Instagram story

The Instagram reel in question showcased the controversial point in its entirety. Rafael Nadal began the point on his serve from the deuce side of the farther end of the court. The Spaniard hit a good first serve down the T, eliciting a weak backhand return from Nick Kyrgios.

Nadal subsequently approached the net on the very next shot. He, however, played the putaway shot a bit loosely, playing an inside-out forehand right into Kyrgios' hands — who proceeded to belt it dead flat and with a lot of pace at his opponent's body frame.

The Aussie's groundstroke seemingly hit Nadal right on his chest, following which he gave a dirty look across the court. Tennis' wild child, however, was hardly bothered by his opponent's reaction as he nonchalantly prepared for his next return.

Rafael Nadal had the last laugh during their clash, though, winning 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) score. The victory marked only the fourth win for Nadal in his seven head-to-head meetings with Kyrgios at that point.

The Spaniard has since improved his record against the Aussie, winning two more matches at the 2020 Australian Open and the 2022 Indian Wells Masters.

Nick Kyrgios is eyeing a return to professional tennis soon

Nick Kyrgios celebrates at the 2022 US Open

Nick Kyrgios, meanwhile, has had a tough time on the ATP tour in terms of his physical conditioning. The Aussie has had to repeatedly deal with injuries due to his relatively poor work ethic.

Kyrgios injured his knee soon after reaching the quarterfinals at last year's US Open, following which he has played only three singles matches (two of them coming at the 2022 Tokyo Open). He subsequently had arthroscopic surgery to rectify the above injury in January, which forced him to skip the 2023 Australian Open.

The former World No. 13 didn't play a pro-tour match again until the grasscourt event in Stuttgart, where he lost to China's Yibing Wu in straight sets. The 28-year-old unfortunately injured his wrist during the early stages of the contest, putting a dampener on the remainder of his 2023 ATP tour season. He is currently unranked, considering he has dropped all of his rankings points to date.

Having said that, Nick Kyrgios is still very eager to make a return to the top rungs of tennis, going by an Instagram story that he put up weeks ago.

"To my millions of fans out there, I guess we just have to be patient. Trust me, I still have some fire left in the tank, my body just needs time to recover and get back. Everything off-court is doing great, I am eyeing to come back and have a season like my last again," he wrote on Instagram.