Rising Australian star Nick Kyrgios, who played in an exhibition with former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro recently, has termed the Argentine a legend of the sport.
The two players played against each other in an exhibition event in Buenos Aires.
Kyrgios, who wrapped up his 2017 campaign earlier than expected due to a hip injury after losing to world No. 98 Ruben Bemelmans at the European Open in Belgium was playing his first match since that humiliating loss.
“I feel good. You know it’s been a lot of time since I played a match. To come here and play against a great player like Juan…it’s a lot of fun and I felt good. The crowd was awesome. It was a good experience and I would love to do it again,” Kyrgios said after the match.
Kyrgios complimented the Tower of Tandil for his superb comeback in 2017 that saw him climb back to No. 11 in the ATP rankings after a series of wrist surgeries. Del Potro’s moment of glory this season was his upset win over reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in the US Open quarterfinals.
“Yeah, he is a legend. He is a Grand Slam champion. He has done a lot for the game. It’s just good to see him back. After having so many injuries — to see him back to the top — he is going to have a great year. He is a really good guy,” Kyrgios said about del Potro.
Commenting on his on own season in which he defeated former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic twice and current French Open champion Rafael Nadal once, Kyrgios said: “Yeah, it was fun. A lot of ups and a lot of downs. But I thought I had a pretty good year. Hopefully next year I can stay a bit more injury-free and play a lot more tournaments.”
