Nick Kyrgios recently played his maiden Grand Slam final which, according to the Australian, has given him much more respect for the 'Big Three'.
Losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets at this year's Wimbledon final 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), Australian Nick Kyrgios achieved his career-best Grand Slam single's result by getting to the final two.
Despite his agonising loss in front of the Centre Court crowd, the man from Down Under will have learnt a lot about himself, his career so far and what he wants to gain from it come the end of his playing days.
Another take away that Kyrgios has gained from the experience was a deeper realisation for just how talented, devoted and successful each of the sport's 'Big Three' are.
In getting to the final, Kyrgios would have gained a taster of what it takes to reach the latest stages of a seven-match, best-of-five set tournament. Having done this for the first time, Kyrgios now understands what it takes out of an athlete to achieve as a feat, let alone over 20 times each one of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have done it.
Speaking post-loss, the Australian was keen to stress just how much respect he has for the three of them for everything they have achieved and given back to the sport:
"You just have to be a mental animal to win a Grand Slam. Novak, Federer, and Nadal, I think I give them a bit more respect now. Playing one of them in the final, felt like he was fresh, felt like he wasn't playing tennis for the last two weeks and never seemed rattled."
Continuing to express his respect on the subject, Kyrgios mentioned the mental side of the game and how strong that side of one's game has to be to be in with a chance of reaching the latter stages:
"You can lose a Grand Slam in a day, but you can't win one. It takes so many days. You know, you play a match and you have a day off, then you play again and then have a day off, like it's the mental capacity to keep doing the same things over and over again for two weeks at the highest level."
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