Kyrgios Acknowledges Reality After Brisbane Return
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has accepted the “sad reality” that he will not be able to be the player he was three years ago, after his most recent return to the ATP circuit lasted just over an hour. Kyrgios, former world number 13, was defeated by American Aleksandar Kovacevic with a score of 6-3 and 6-4 in just 66 minutes in his first-round match at the Brisbane International. This was Kyrgios’ first match on the circuit since last March and only the seventh in three years, after undergoing wrist and knee surgeries, which caused his ranking to fall to 670th in the world. The talented Australian tennis player reached the Wimbledon final and the US Open quarter-finals in 2022, before stepping away from the circuit and playing only once in two years, followed by five appearances last year. Despite his short stay in the tournament, Kyrgios still hopes to obtain one of the last three available invitations for this month’s Australian Open, showing optimism but realism.Kyrgios, who participated in a series of exhibition matches at the end of last year, managed only 10 winners compared to Kovacevic’s 27, lamenting some lost points that led to breaks in both sets.I feel good and I will try to use this as a starting point. Not just for the Australian Open, but for this year, for whatever the year brings, I want to keep playing as much as I can.
Kyrgios
Kyrgios, who will participate in next week’s Kooyong Classic, will stay in Brisbane to play doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis, after the pair won an exciting match on Sunday night. The tennis player had promised the “Kyrgios experience” before the tournament and admitted that, despite an underarm serve in the first set, he had offered “half of it”. Kyrgios said he had enjoyed the support at a tournament he won in 2018 and felt he had changed the opinion of the Australian crowds and media. Kovacevic, who performed well at the end of the year to reach the highest ranking of his career, admitted that Kyrgios had been a difficult opponent. The American tennis player commented that it was difficult to know what to expect from Kyrgios, as it was not known whether he was healthy or not. In addition, he pointed out that it was difficult to study him recently, as he had not been on the circuit for a while playing serious matches.Fast game, but he is world class… he was impeccable. He is focused, he is a great player, one to follow without a doubt.
Kyrgios
