Washington tournament director Mark Ein feels American kids don’t neccessarily need an American Grand Slam male winner in order to be inspired to pick up a racket as he thinks Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios are serving as a great inspiration to kids throughout the world.
The United States have a rich tennis history but they haven’t had a male Grand Slam champion since 2003, when Andy Roddick lifted his first and lone Grand Slam title at the US Open. Nadal, who competed in Washington last year, didn’t participate at the tournament this year.
On the other side, Kyrgios did play and he ended up winning his second Washington title. Nadal is one of the greatest players in tennis history, while Kyrgios draws attention to tennis with his flamboyant style and he is especially popular among the younger population.
“I think we live in a world where players like Rafa and Nick can inspire kids of any nationality. If Frances Tiafoe wins a Grand Slam, that’s going to have a huge impact, because people see that he grew up in Maryland, in Washington, and he’s now at the top.
It would be wonderful. I don’t think it’s required for the sport to thrive, but I do think it would be a real boost if and when it ultimately happens on the men’s side. It’s obviously been happening on the women’s side for a long time,” Ein said, per Sportskeeda.
Nadal and Kyrgios didn’t meet in the Wimbledon semifinal
Nadal and Kyrgios were scheduled to clash in the Wimbledon semifinal, but then the Spaniard was forced to withdraw due to an abdominal injury. After edging out Taylor Fritz in five sets, Nadal underwent scans to determine the severity of his abdominal injury.
The scans revealed an abdominal tear and Nadal was forced to pull out of the Kyrgios match. Shortly after the Nadal announcement, Kyrgios sent out an Instagram post, in which he wished the Spaniard a quick recovery. It remains to be seen if Nadal and Kyrgios get to play each other at the US Open.
