"As a competitor, I really wanted to play this match," added the Australian at a press conference, the day after the announcement of Nadal's withdrawal due to abdominal pain.
"My first reaction was a feeling of disappointment. All my energy was focused on my match against him and the way I was going to face him tactically, on the emotions I was going to feel when I entered the court," explained Kyrgios.
"We had so many great battles. Here we beat each other once. I really wanted to see what the third chapter was going to bring," Kyrgios said again.
"Obviously we want to see a player like him, so important for our sport, withdraw due to injury (...) I hope he will recover and I'm sure I will play against him again in a big tournament" , said Kyrgios who however finds it "quite nice" to be in the final.
Earlier, he gave his support to Nadal on social media.
"Different players, different personalities. Hope your recovery is going well and we all hope to see you back healthy -- see you next time," he wrote on Instagram.
Kyrgios and Nadal were to be opposed on Friday in the semi-finals of the London tournament, but the Spaniard, already winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments including twice at Wimbledon (2008 and 2010), was forced to forfeit due to a abdominal tear that did not prevent him from winning his quarter-final against Taylor Fritz on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Australian will face in the final, with an extra day of rest, the winner of the other semi-final between the Serbian Novak Djokovic, already six times victorious at Wimbledon, and the Briton Cameron Norrie, local hero of this edition 2022.
© 2022 AFP