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Kyrgios says Nadal 'super salty' in defeat, calls Djokovic 'cringeworthy'

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Nick Kyrgios is arguably the most polarizing figure in tennis, constantly making headlines with his on-court antics and causing controversy whenever he speaks his mind.

The Aussie continued his ways during an appearance on Ben Rothenberg's "No Challenges Remaining" podcast on Wednesday, when he ranted about several of his fellow tennis stars.

When asked about Rafael Nadal, Kyrgios suggested the Spaniard is unable to accept defeat and that he behaves differently depending on the result of their matchups.

"He's my polar opposite, like literally my polar opposite," Kyrgios said of Nadal. "And he's super salty.

"Every time I've beaten him ... when he wins, it's fine. He won't say anything bad, he'll credit the opponent, 'He was a great player.' But as soon as I beat him, it's just like, 'He has no respect for me, my fans and no respect to the game.' And I'm like, 'What are you talking about? I literally played this way when I beat you the other previous times and nothing changed.'"

While discussing No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic, Kyrgios said the Serbian will do anything to be appreciated.

"I just feel like he has a sick obsession with wanting to be liked," Kyrgios said. "He just wants to be like Roger (Federer). For me personally. I feel like he just wants to be liked so much that I just can't stand him.

"This whole celebration thing that he does after matches, it's like so cringeworthy. It's very cringeworthy."

Kyrgios was also vocal about Fernando Verdasco, with whom he had a Twitter spat during the 2018 Miami Open.

"Verdasco drives me nuts, man. That guy ... I don't even want to talk about it," Kyrgios said. "It gets me so vexed, I'm like angry now that I just hear that name. He's the most arrogant person ever."

Kyrgios managed to stir up more media attention on Thursday by throwing a chair onto the court during his second-round Italian Open match against Casper Ruud. He was disqualified shortly after being deducted a game in the third set, allowing Ruud to advance in the tournament.

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