The Rafael Nadal-Pedro Cachin third-round encounter at the Madrid Open 2024 had multiple highlight rallies. The 29-year-old asking Nadal for his shirt as a souvenir after suffering a loss was among the numerous talking points from the duel. Cachin received a lot of mixed reactions for his “fanboy” type behavior. However, long-time enemies Boris Becker and Nick Kyrgios united to be delighted with the incident.
Rafael Nadal was expected to cruise into the fourth round. To Pedro Cachin’s credit though, the South American did give Nadal a run for his money clinching a historic 2nd set win. However, the King of Clay bounced back and won the contest 6-1, 6-7, 6-3.
Cachin showed no remorse after losing the match. Instead, he asked the Raging Bull for a shirt as a souvenir.
Pedro Cachin’s request for a shirt was obliged by the 22-time Grand Slam winner. However, not many tennis enthusiasts were amused by the incident. David Law, host of The Tennis Podcast, was among the many individuals to express their dissatisfaction with Cachin’s request.
Nick Kyrgios was quick enough to question the British sports broadcaster’s comments. Comparing the moment between Rafa and Cachin to the jersey swaps that have so often taken place in the NBA or in soccer, the Aussie star clapped back.
Why? NBA players, soccer players do it all the time? It’s a memory, an experience that took a life time of work and that less than 1% of humans get to. You wouldn’t understand.
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) April 30, 2024
Despite Kyrgios’ outburst, Law stood his ground. Hence, in quite a crude manner, the former World No.13 asked the reporter to be in his place.
Yes but you aren’t in this position hence you should just listen and take it in. You report on the sport that we play.
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) April 30, 2024
As surprising as it may sound, Boris Becker shared the same ideology as Nick Kyrgios. Retweeting a post with the clip of Nadal gifting his jersey to Cachin, Becker was seemingly proud of the Spaniard.
Vamos Rafa https://t.co/EZ59Qkf7WC
— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) April 29, 2024
Pedro Cachin might have lost the clash on Monday. However, in a way, he did manage to pull off two impossible tasks – snap Rafa’s 9-0 tie-break record at the Madrid Open and get Boris Becker and Nick Kyrgios to agree on the same thing.
Nick Kyrgios-Boris Becker Feud: How It Panned Out
Nick Kyrgios is a character known for often indulging in altercations with the chair umpires, opponents, and even the fans. However, in 2023, the seven-time ATP title winner went on to have an argument on social media with former World No.1 Boris Becker.
In 2023 mid-December, Kyrgios went viral on social media for comparing the older generation of players to the current era. Nick enraged the German legend when implying that the players of the present generation were significantly better. In doing so, the Australian used Boris as a measuring yardstick.
Nick makes a lot of noise about tennis lately!?! Why does he speak about a sport he apparently hates …fact-check Nick has never won a major championship as a player or coach( yes doubles 1) so where is any credibility coming from ? Trying to compare generations… Laver v Federer… https://t.co/i76kasQnBk
— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) December 13, 2023
As expected, these comments didn’t stick well with the 6-time Grand Slam winner as he retaliated back. For the subsequent days, the two esteemed personalities of the tennis community kept going back and forth.
Eventually, their quarrel on social media did come to an end. But neither of the two has shown any signs of apologizing to the other. Hence, it is safe to assume that they are still beefing.
