Rafael Nadal denies claims he snubbed Nick Kyrgios
Monday 31 August 2015 12:20, UK
Rafael Nadal has angrily denied claims he refused to play doubles with controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios at a recent charity event.
The Spaniard reportedly told organisers he would not play with or against Kyrgios at the event in New York, which had been put on by John McEnroe's Tennis Academy.
Kyrgios, who plays British No 1 Andy Murray in the US Open first round on Tuesday live on Sky Sports, drew widespread criticism for making disparaging comments towards Stan Wawrinka during a match in Montreal earlier this month.
Nadal expressed his disapproval at the tournament, describing the remarks as "completely unnecessary", while adding "age is not an excuse".
The former world No 1, however, insists he never refused to play with Kyrgios in New York and said the report suggesting he snubbed the 20-year-old is false.
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"I was never supposed to play a doubles match," Nadal said. "First, I was only supposed to play singles in the exhibition so that (article) was wrong information.
"Second, I never knew I had to play against Kyrgios. I was told I was going to play Lleyton Hewitt. No one asked me to play doubles with Nick Kyrgios.
"I was only asked to play a singles match, since Roland Garros I knew that.
"This story I was supposed to play a doubles match - I don't know where that story comes from."
Nadal has endured a miserable season by his own high standards, losing in the quarter-finals at the Australian and French Opens, before crashing out to Dustin Brown in the second round at Wimbledon.
Recent defeats to Kei Nishikori in Montreal and Feliciano Lopez in Cincinnati may not inspire confidence but the 14-time grand slam champion feels a revival is closer than ever.
"After a tough year for me, I feel that today I'm closer than ever to be at the level of tennis I have been at in the past," Nadal said.
"My stress is much less than it was at the beginning of the season. I'm feeling better myself. As a tennis player, I'm feeling better today than I was a couple of months ago.
"I've worked a lot these last couple of months. I know the process. It's a challenge for me to find the level of play that I've been at a lot of times in my career.
"I'm practising great, now it's time to play great against the competition. The level of tennis is very close to being back there."
Nadal will begin his US Open campaign against 18-year-old Croatian Borna Coric in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday.
Coric is considered one of the game's most promising talents and he beat Nadal in their only previous meeting in Basel last year.
"He is a tough player. He's a young player with a lot of energy and he's a big competitor," Nadal said.
"He's one of the players that is the future of our sport so it's a tough one but I'm playing well. I feel like I'm ready.
"He's a complete player with a great serve and a very good backhand.
"I don't' remember playing him before. It was a tough week for me. I had the surgery the week after. I don't remember it very well but I think I played very bad.
"If he played well then he deserved to win but hopefully Monday will be a different story."
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