Nick Kyrgios has reconciled the “sad reality” that he’ll never be the player he was just three years ago after his latest ATP Tour singles comeback lasted barely an hour.
The former world No.13 was outgunned by razor-sharp American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3 6-4 in just 66 minutes in their Brisbane International first-round clash on Tuesday.
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It was Kyrgios’s first Tour match since last March and only his seventh in three years after surgeries on his wrist and knees that have led to his ranking plummeting to a staggering 670 in the world.
The mercurial Australian made the Wimbledon final and US Open quarters in 2022 before dropping off the tour and playing just once in two years, before five appearances last year.
He’s still hopeful of earning one of the final three wildcards available for this month’s Australian Open, upbeat but realistic despite his short-lived stay at a packed Pat Rafter Arena.
“I feel good and I’ll try and use it as a building block,” he said.
“Not just for AO, but this year, for whatever this year holds, I want to continue to play as much as I can.”
Kyrgios, who played a string of exhibition matches across the globe late last year, hit just 10 winners to the world No.58’s 27 and rued a handful of loose points that led to singular breaks in both sets.
“Quick match, but he’s world class … he was lights out,” the 30-year-old said.
“He’s locked in, a hell of a player, one to watch for sure.
“This is a good building block. If I was to string a few (matches) together, who knows where I’ll be in six to 12 months’ time.
“Right now, I’m OK with taking a loss on my chin.”
Kyrgios said he had “no shame” in conceding that prizemoney remained a factor in his decision to play on, despite admitting the “delusion” that he was unbeatable just three years ago had faded.
“I genuinely thought I was the best player in the world,” he said of his 2022 run.
“After you have those surgeries, I guess they pull you down and you don’t have that belief anymore. It’s sad in a way.
“That’s just the reality. People out there think you go under the knife, come back and you’re the same player.
“It’s not how it is. That’s just sport; you can’t get too upset and that’s why you’ve got to be grateful for moments like that doubles match the other night.”
Kyrgios, entered in next week’s Kooyong Classic, will remain in Brisbane to play doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis after the pair won an enthralling match on Sunday night.
He had promised the “Kyrgios experience” pre-tournament and conceded, despite a cheeky underarm serve in the first set, he had delivered “half of it”.
“Me and Thanasi gave the crowd more entertainment than they’d had all tournament. So I gave them … the ‘Special K’ experience,” he said.
He said he had relished the support at a tournament he won in 2018 and felt like he’d turned a corner with Australian crowds and media.
“The journey I’ve had … hasn’t always been amazing,” he said.
“Now, every time I walk out there it’s always a lot of fun.
“I’ve felt a lot of love out there. Young kids chanting and enjoying their time.
“I feel as if I’m giving them a good show and one day, if they love tennis, they can be out there in that arena playing.”
Kovacevic, who finished the year strongly to hit a career-high ranking, admitted Kyrgios had presented as a difficult opponent.
“A tough one to approach, you don’t know what you’re going to get with Nick, whether he’s healthy or not,” Kovacevic said.
“And tough to scout him recently, because he hasn’t been on Tour for a while and playing serious matches.
“I just knew I had to be pretty locked in.
“To be honest I was expecting a little more than that, in terms of adversity.”
