Nick Kyrgios confessed he was aiming to hit Rafael Nadal with the ball during a rally in their bad-tempered second-round Wimbledon encounter, which the Spaniard won in four sets.

The two have been locked in a war of words over the last few months, with Kyrgios trading insults with Nadal and his uncle Toni, and that threatened to spill out on to Centre Court in the Spaniard's 6-3 3-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (3) victory.

There was almost a flashpoint in the third set when Kyrgios thrashed a forehand straight at Nadal, which he refused to apologise for and later said he did on purpose.

That was not the first time that Kyrgios had aimed to hit the ball as hard as he could at Nadal and several flew wildly out of court.

The Spaniard, aiming for a third Wimbledon crown, said: "The history of this sport is about respect and is about playing fair during the whole time.

"I don't say Nick does this stuff to bother the opponent, but it is true that sometimes he's dangerous.

"When he hits the ball like this, is dangerous. It is not dangerous for me, it is dangerous for a line referee, dangerous for a crowd.

"I was like, 'Oh, a little bit of a power trip there'. He obviously feels pretty important sitting up in the chair.

"He was just terrible. I thought the way he handled the match was just bad.

"I just don't think he was up to scratch today. That's most definitely not why I lost."