"He plays every point. Nadal is proud of the relentless effort he expends, his "passion" for the game. Meanwhile, Kyrgios was starting to feel the effects of his four hour and 30 minute third round match against Russian Nadal broke Kyrgios in the first game of the fourth set and although the Spaniard struggled to close out the match when serving for it at 5-4, he was still able to get the job done in another tiebreaker. This rivalry has made up in intensity for what it lacks in quantity or peak-moment cachet (only one of their meetings was in a final, in Beijing). "If I do something outrageous, I get, like, destroyed in the media for it. That's what I was thinking -- no, I'm kidding. He's like, 'No, I'll tell him what I want to tell him.' (0:50)But when the men meet again in the fourth round at the Australian Open on Monday (ESPN2 and ESPN App), the matchup between the 19-time Grand Slam champion Nadal and still-Slam-less but flashy insurgent of men's tennis will send a jolt of electricity through fans and generate attention worthy of a major final.Nadal-Kyrgios VIII has the feel of a heavyweight title fight with all the trimmings, including trash talk.First and foremost, though, the competition has fired our imagination because of the tennis. It's not an easy skill, either, but at 2-5, 40-0 in the first set, Kyrgios made it look easy as he feathered … Nadal busts out the finger wag, which is usually reserved for wins where he knows there was some spice.And don't forget Nadal's celebration, either, the wagging of his index finger, telling everyone what he thought of the match. Nick Kyrgios wiped away tears as he came on the court in a Kobe Bryant jersey for his match with Rafael Nadal. He's an absolute warrior," Kyrgios said. The problem with it, though, is that it rarely works. I don't think the emotions have died down at all. Still the rant continued: "Look at you. It has already delivered a bumper crop of indelible moments and appealing contrasts.Despite the superiority of Nadal's record, Kyrgios has three victories in those seven meetings against the GOAT candidate. I struggle so hard to just play every point with a routine, have the same patterns. By contrast, Kyrgios cultivates the image of a man whose passions lie elsewhere, and has often been accused by some of not giving his best effort during matches. Fickle bunch. He likely isn't as contemptuous of Nadal as those who enjoy fanning the flame of controversy make it sound.

Rafael Nadal, who hasn't dropped a set so far in Australian Open 2020, is up against Australia's Nick Kyrgios.

It was insane. He broke back immediately and held his serve to level at four games apiece, before getting the better of Kyrgios in a tense tiebreaker. I am here to enjoy my sport. Kyrgios pulled out the tweener early on -- in the second game, in fact. Kyrgios struck the first blow when he raced out to a 3-0 lead, but Khachanov mowed him down, eventually taking an 8-7 advantage in the all-important race to 10.But Kyrgios hung tough and grinded out three straight points to send the crowd into raptures and himself into the fourth round of his home Slam, prevailing 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 6-7(7), 7-6(8) in four hours and 26 minutes, the longest match of his professional career. "Are you stupid?" I am here to play tennis. "Nadal has always been one of the more animated players on court, with his fist pump surely headed for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. ... His ability to bring it every day and compete, it's special. The unlikely victory catapulted the Australian upstart to fame.The players reached the fourth round in Melbourne with impressive third-round wins.

He certainly wasn't lacking in variety, that's for sure.At one set apiece, 4-4, 40-15, Nadal served and, after a short return, approached the net with a forehand up the line, only for Kyrgios to slap a forehand straight at him. "Wow, you've got so much power up there," Kyrgios said.That drew a code violation and he actually played better for a while, with the average speed on his forehand cranking up a few notches. "I just didn't want to hit another one. He failed to close out what looked like a routine win against No. What do you want from me, man? He quickly held to go ahead 4-1, and shortly after had squared the match at one set all.The pair exchanged holds throughout a tense, yet high quality third set, a tiebreaker eventually required to decide it. "The tension of the final set tiebreaker wasn't the only drama on the night, during the fourth set Kyrgios engaged in a spat with chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein.Kyrgios had earlier dived across the court to strike a sensational winner, the resulting fall causing his left hand to bleed. He also made his displeasure known when Nadal took a toilet break. I think I'm still running on adrenaline," Kyrgios said in his post-match media conference. ... Nadal advances to the third round of the Australian Open. It has been 30 years since Michael Chang made the underarm serve famous at the French Open, but this year, Kyrgios has been making it his own. "He's younger than me and he's going to have an incredible career.