Nick Kyrgios is entering the French Open with high confidence despite a hip problem.
The 21-year-old Australian pushed Rafael Nadal to three sets in the third round of Rome, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4. It was their first meeting since Kyrgios stunned the Spaniard two years ago at Wimbledon.
"It makes me feel confident," Kyrgios told press in Rome, describing Nadal as "the greatest of all time on this surface."
"For me, you know, just when I was a bit younger, two years ago, we were always talking about playing Rafa on clay," he added. "And I always thought I'd get absolutely destroyed against him."
Though clay is not his preferred surface, Kyrgios reached the semifinal of Estoril, and defeated Stan Wawrinka on his way to the quarterfinals in Madrid.
Against Nadal, the Aussie appeared be dealing with a hip injury during the second set, but he insisted it did not hamper his play.
"My hip was not great before the match either, but I knew my game plan," he said. "It's bothering me but it didn't really bother me too much at all. I mean, I got a great physio. They help me a lot."
The world No. 20 is in Paris, working with his physio and training for Roland Garros.
"I'm not playing anything next week, just relax there for a week," he said. "And obviously do everything I need to do to get my hip right and ease into the first week of French."