"Thought I was going to be staying in a 6-star hotel, Roger Federer put me in a 3-star for 2 weeks" - Nick Kyrgios jokes about training with Swiss

Nick Kyrgios recently went down memory lane and shared a hilarious anecdote about 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.

Kyrgios' on-court hiatus has now stretched to over half a year, having not played a competitive match since June 2023 due to injuries. While recovering, he has been covering tennis events as a commentator. Kyrgios is currently working for Eurosport for their coverage of the Australian Open 2024.

While commentating on Alexander Zverev's quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday, January 24, the Aussie narrated a story about his younger days with Federer during a training camp in Switzerland. Kyrgios said he expected a lavish stay during the camp but Federer made modest arrangements for him in an apparent attempt to keep him grounded.

"He invited me for a training week and I thought I was going to be staying in a five, six-star hotel… he put me in a three-star hotel for two weeks. Cheers Rog! The Wi-Fi was patchy, couldn’t even get a good night’s rest, the guy is out there for three, four hours with me the next day," the Australian said.

Nick Kyrgios then shared the experience of watching the former World No. 1 train from close quarters. He revealed that he used to believe Federer wouldn't require training like a normal player, before seeing that the reality was different.

"I was always wondering, ‘How does this guy train, how does he keep getting better?’ He would just create drills he would want to do… work on his slice," Kyrgios said. "So, I’m assuming that there will be things that he feels that he can work on but I didn't think Federer could work on anything but there he was in Switzerland just getting better."

He further disclosed his love for the food in Switzerland.

"The clubhouses in Switzerland have the best food, those old European clubhouses man. But look he was a pretty good tennis player, I mean the food was incredible," he said.

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Nick Kyrgios defeated Roger Federer in their first meeting but couldn't repeat the feat ever again

Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios shake hands.

Nick Kyrgios surprised Roger Federer in their first-ever duel. He met the 20-time Grand Slam champion for the first time in the year 2015 at the Madrid Open and earned a 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12) win.

However, the Australian could never beat Federer again. The duo clashed a total of seven times, with the Swiss leading the head-to-head 6-1.

Federer and Kyrgios played against each other for the last time in singles at the Laver Cup in 2019, where Federer won 5-7(5), 7-5, 10-7. The Swiss represented Team Europe while Nick Kyrgios played for Team World at the event.