"I Told You": Kyrgios and Alcaraz's Instagram DMs revealed

Nick Kyrgios talked about his close relationship with Carlos Alcaraz and the direct messages they exchange on social media. The Spaniard was surprisingly eliminated in the second round by Botic Van de Zandschulp in straight sets.

The 2022 champion had one of the worst performances of his Grand Slam career and could do little against the world No. 74, who caused the major surprise in the men's draw by ending Alcaraz's streak of 15 consecutive wins in majors.

Taking advantage of his break from competition, Kyrgios is working as a commentator at the US Open and has closely followed the tournament's progress, even appearing in several on-court interviews in recent days. The Australian revealed the friendship he shares with Alcaraz following the surprising elimination of the 21-year-old player.

In the first round, Kyrgios was responsible for interviewing Alcaraz and even joked about the sleeveless shirt Alcaraz wore: "he doesn't have to go out there and feel like he has to put on a show – people come just to see those arms in that singlet."

Apparently, their friendship dates back to when Kyrgios predicted that Alcaraz would win the title at the 2022 US Open. In the post-first-round press conference, Alcaraz mentioned that he exchanges direct messages on Instagram with Kyrgios: “Are you going to believe what Nick Kyrgios says from now on?” Alcaraz was asked.

“Honestly, I check the DMs on Instagram. I saw Nick Kyrgios’ message. I didn’t read the whole message, but I read that he said, 'I told you.'”

Kyrgios once again demonstrated his prediction skills by expressing his concern for Alcaraz at the start of the match against Van de Zandschulp: "Interesting. Carlos not settled at all. Too many unforced errors. Going to have to do something he has never done before. Come back from 2 sets down. We need a more composed, better decision-making Carlos if we are to get a comeback. Botic is dangerous."

The world No. 3 was later self-critical of the level he showed at Arthur Ashe Stadium: "The truth is that what I feel right now is that instead of taking steps forward I have taken steps backward in terms of my mind, and I don't understand why."