Nick Kyrgios stuns tennis fans by naming star he ‘really likes’ | Tennis

Nick Kyrgios appears to have finally put an end to his long-standing feud with Casper Ruud by complimenting the tennis star on his performance at the US Open.

The outspoken Australian is notorious for his fierce criticism of Ruud’s performances on the ATP Tour, once calling the three-time Grand Slam finalist “boring” to watch.

But the Norwegian could only enjoy his impressive 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (3) victory over Gael Monfils, which took him to the third round, where he will face Juncheng Shang from China.

Ruud admitted that he was eager to make up for some mistakes after losing a thrilling five-set match to Zhang Zhizhen last year, which says a lot about his unusually enthusiastic nature on court.

“It was a tough five-setter last year. So I wanted to get my revenge,” he said on court. “It was a different player today, of course.

“That loss of course hurt a bit with the result of 2022. I reached the final and I was not there to defend it. So I lost in the second round.

“I’ll always have fond memories of coming back here, but also some tough losses. That was one of them. Luckily I avenged it tonight.”

Instead of addressing him on social media, Kyrgios seemed to completely change his tune towards the 25-year-old. Kyrgios wrote via his official X account: “Ruud is going under the radar… how times have changed, I really enjoy watching his tennis. I really do.”

It’s a huge change of attitude from the 29-year-old former Wimbledon finalist, who previously reacted angrily to Ruud’s comments about him at the 2019 Italian Open, which sparked their feud.

The tension between the two threatened to escalate after Kyrgios threw a chair during their meeting, which Ruud was not happy about.

The Norwegian tennis star took Kyrgios to task for his behaviour and called for a six-month ban for his actions, adding fuel to the fire by calling Kyrgios an “idiot” and “completely crazy”.

That was all it took to stoke the fire under Kyrgios, who hit back and said: “Hey, Casper Ruud, next time you have something to say, I would appreciate it if you said it to my face.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t talk as much after that. Until then, I’d rather watch paint dry than watch you play tennis, boring as f***.”

Kyrgios has not played a professional match since June 2023 and last appeared at a Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows in 2022. But his time away from the sport appears to have helped him keep his emotions in check after taking on media duties at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

While relations between them may improve in the future, Kyrgios proved he is still a match for world number 8 Ruud after beating him in an Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) match in New York last week.