Nick Kyrgios revealed he used to “despise” Rafael Nadal but then became emotional when watching the Spaniard’s farewell and knowing that it was last the tournament of his career.

After famously upsetting the Spaniard in their first meeting at 2014 Wimbledon, the Australian won two of their next eight meetings. One of those two wins that came latter was clinched in 2019, when the former world No. 13 earned a hard-fought 3-6 7-6 (2) 7-6 (6) win in Acapulco.

After that match, Nadal called out Kyrgios by saying: “He lacks respect for the crowd, his opponent and towards himself.” A couple of months later, the Spanish tennis icon won their Wimbledon match in four sets – that clash in which the Australian attempted to hit him and afterward admitted that it was intention to hit the Spaniard in the body.

However, in an appearance on the Nothing Major podcast – hosted by Sam Querrey, John Isner, Jack Sock and John Isner – Kyrgios shared that he became “emotional” watching the former 22-time Grand Slam champion play his last tournament at the Davis Cup Finals.

Kyrgios: I couldn’t stand Nadal…

After Querrey reminded the 2022 Wimbledon finalist that he had a history with the 38-year-old, the Australian kept it straight honest.

“Couldn’t stand him. I used to hate and despise him so much when I saw him walking around. He was probably one guy that always motivated me. I was like, if I played him, I’d try and get up for it. I’d try and get the best tennis I could possibly play. But I didn’t feel that anger towards Federer or Novak when I played them,” Kyrgios said.

“When I played Rafa, I don’t know. I guess because everyone in my academies back home idolized him. They were like, ‘He’s such a hard worker. He’s this, he’s that.’ And I was like, ‘I can’t stand this guy. I can’t stand him.’ I wanted to show people that you could just be chilled and have fun and beat someone like that.”