"Rafael Nadal on grass was ridiculous" - Nick Kyrgios echoes Spaniard's 'second best surface' sentiments

Nick Kyrgios agreed with Rafael Nadal's claim that grass was his "second best surface" during his playing days. Kyrgios voiced his own take on the subject, citing his experience of facing the former No. 1 on grass on more than one occasion.

The Spaniard featured as a guest on an episode of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast. Here, the now-retired tennis legend told Roddick that his game was best suited to clay.

The 22-time singles Major champion also admitted that he preferred grass over hard courts. To back up his claim, he cited his Wimbledon final appearances in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. Furthermore, the Spaniard stated that he looked forward to facing great rival Novak Djokovic much more on grass, as compared to hard courts.

"My second best surface was grass. Without playing 2009, I played five (Wimbledon) finals in a row. Honestly, I preferred to play Novak on grass than on hard," Nadal told Roddick.

Former ATP No. 13 and 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios reacted to Rafael Nadal's statement with a brief post on X. The often-controversial yet undeniably skillful Australian lauded the two-time Wimbledon champion's abilities on grass, writing:

"Honestly Rafa on grass was ridiculous - lefty serve, great hands - can confirm was a nightmare on hard as well 🤷🏽‍♂️"

Kyrgios himself faced the Spaniard twice at Wimbledon, and the results were contrasting.

Nick Kyrgios stunned Rafael Nadal in first Wimbledon meeting; Spaniard turned tables on Aussie next time

Nick Kyrgios (left) and Rafael Nadal (right) after the conclusion of their second-round match at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships (Source: Getty)

At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, a young Nick Kyrgios pulled off one of the greatest upsets ever on the Grand Slam stage. The Australian registered a 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16. Last year, Kyrgios recalled how this particular win marked "a lightbulb moment" for him.

The two met again in the second round of the prestigious grasscourt Major in 2019. However, on this occasion, it was the Spaniard who came out on top with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) victory.

They would have met in the semifinals of the 2022 edition of the grasscourt Grand Slam as well. However, Rafael Nadal withdrew ahead of the match due to injury, granting Kyrgios easy passage into the final. Unfortunately for the Australian, he came up second-best against Novak Djokovic at the last hurdle, despite establishing a one-set lead over the Serb.