Nick Kyrgios hilariously revealed he found it both surprising and funny seeing how much champagne Roger Federer could drink during a Laver Cup party.
After Federer and his long-time agent Tony Godsick announced the creation of the Laver Cup, Kyrgios was among a star-studded player field that featured the inaugural Laver Cup edition in Prague in 2017. That year, Team Europe famously sealed a win over Team World after Federer saved a match point en route to edging out Kyrgios 4-6 7-6 (6) 11-9.
In the next couple of years, Kyrgios made three more Laver Cup appearances as he also represented Team World in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Federer, who made three consecutive Laver Cup appearances between 2017 and 2019, famously retired while playing one doubles match with Nadal at the 2022 Laver Cup in London. In the years when Federer didn’t compete at the Laver Cup due to his knee issues or retirement like last year, he visited the Laver Cup as a special guest.
Roger Federer© Getty Images Entertainment – Remy Steiner
“Can you talk about something you have done with the GOAT RF that no one knows,” a fan asked Kyrgios during the Australian’s Q&S session on Instagram.
Responding to the question, Kyrgios wrote: “We went out after the Laver Cup one year…. Team World was partying obviously… We turned around and Team Europe walked in… Roger can put away champagne. I was like ‘damn hahahaha.'”
Nick Kyrgios answer© Nick Kyrgios – Instagram
Kyrgios on his regret
Kyrgios, who is set to turn 29 in April, was also asked during the Q&A session if there were any regrets from his younger days. That’s when Kyrgios revealed that he was likely used by some people who didn’t benefit him much.
“Letting people get close to me, they benefited way more than I did most of them were just bad distractions,” Kyrgios said.
Over the last decade, Kyrgios has been one of the most criticized and scrutinized players in the tennis world – that was especially the case in the Australian’s early days on the Tour. While Kyrgios’ public image and relationship with the media has generally improved over the last few years, he recently admitted that seeing what was written about him several years ago wasn’t easy to accept.
But Kyrgios is now dealing with all of that stuff better and a fan wanted his advice on how not to care about what others have to say.
“You Won’t EVER be able to please everyone. Once you are completely comfortable in your own skin, you reach a scary level of freedom and you can enjoy everything. You can get on people’s nerves and start having fun with it!” Kyrgios explained.
Nick Kyrgios© Getty Images Sport – Patrick Smith
Kyrgios’ advice on how to make it
Over the last couple of years, Kyrgios has gotten himself with some non-tennis stuff as he is now a co-owner of Australian basketball team South Melbourne Phoenix. In January, it was also announced that Kyrgios was joining forces with Naomi Osaka’s production Hana Kuma for the “Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios” series.
“Get legit at something. If you got a genuine skill, distance yourself from people who do ‘normal things’ and chase that thing,” Kyrgios said when asked to share his advice to the younger generation.
When Kyrgios first came on the tennis scene and defeated Rafael Nadal en route to reaching the 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinal, he was tipped to win Grand Slams and reach the world No. 1 ranking one day. But when that wasn’t happening in the next couple of years, some started talking about Kyrgios as someone who would never unlock his potential to the fullest.
But then, Kyrgios won the 2022 Australian Open men’s doubles title with Thanasi Kokkinakis before also reaching his first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon six months later. In the 2022 Wimbledon final, Kyrgios played outstanding but still lost in four sets to Novak Djokovic. After the final, Kyrgios’ performance was widely praised and many even claimed that the Australian would have won that final had anyone other than Djokovic stood on the other side of the net.
“You have to know ang understand what you want deep down. Have that conversation in the mirror. Hard work. It’s actually really simple,” Kyrgios responded when asked how to unlock potential to the fullest.
Nick Kyrgios© Getty Images Sport – Ryan Pierse
In one of his answers, Kyrgios also revealed that he is someone that rarely stops.
“Very hard for a mind like mine to relax. Whether it be training, business, or other commitments. I try to game (very competitive) but my dogs give me a sense of being human. I’m starting to find out people think getting to this level is easy,” Kyrgios said when asked how he relaxes.
Kyrgios, who had knee surgery last year before sustaining a wrist injury in June, also shared that his wrist is progressing well. If it remains that way, Kyrgios should be ready to play during the grass season.
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