Does Roger Federer want to avoid playing Nick Kyrgios?

The World No. 1 joked that he doesn’t want to face Nick Kyrgios, especially in a five-setter.

Roger Federer is currently playing in Halle Open in Germany, where he will aim for a fourth title. He achieved the No. 1 ranking after beating Nick Kyrgios in the semifinal of Mercedes Cup last week (which he eventually won).

Federer has now taken a 150-point lead over Rafael Nadal, who has now dropped to 2nd.

The Swiss star was made to work hard by Australian Nick Kyrgios in the semifinal, as the duo played two tie-breakers before Federer won the game 6-7, 6-2, 7-6.

Federer has so far won two out of three games against Kyrgios. The Aussie tennis star, on the other hand, beat Andy Murray at the Queen’s Club recently, which took his overall wins to 5 out of 13 against Federer, Murray and Djokovic combined.

Nick Kyrgios has often suffered with inconsistency, which has led to World No. 21 losing games to unseeded players in Grand Slam tournaments. However, the Aussie looks to be in good form as Wimbledon Championships start from July 2.

Roger Federer, in an interview quoted by the Express, talked about facing Nick Kyrgios.

“I’d rather not play five-set matches against Nick because they would last too long and we would probably both grow beards before the end,” Federer said. “I’m a fan, really. He plays very relaxedly, just like me when I was young,” the Swiss added.

“Fortunately, I changed then, so I could become really successful. But it’s good to have guys like him on the tour. With him it’s more about being focused to motivate himself again, doing the same on every point,” Federer commented on Kyrgios.

Kyrgios was all praises about Federer after his semifinal defeat last week. “Yeah, he just looks relaxed. He looks in form. The last couple of months wasn’t from injury for him. He’s just been chilling out and getting ready for this grass season. He’s very dangerous at the moment,” said Kyrgios.