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A wounded Nick Kyrgios has declared he cannot see himself making another singles appearance at the Australian Open after crashing out in his long-awaited grand slam comeback.
The 29-year-old Australian said a lingering abdominal strain plagued his serve in a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 7-6 (7-2) first-round loss to young Scot Jacob Fearnley on Monday night.
Kyrgios said he was “heartbroken” at being unable to perform at his show-stopping best for the John Cain Arena crowd in the at-times ill-tempered affair.
“Realistically, I can’t really see myself probably playing singles again here,” he said after spending two hours and 19 minutes on court.
“I, kind of, was taking everything in tonight … I didn’t want to just throw in the towel and walk off or retire.”
He credited the world No.86, although branded him “a f***ing challenger player” on court when complaining about his own inability to generate pace on serve.
“I knew that I wasn’t 100 per cent going into this match,” Kyrgios said.
“I’m not saying that’s why I lost. He outplayed me. He outserved me, he returned well, he did a lot of things amazing … he’s an in-form player.”
It was Kyrgios’ first appearance at a major since making the 2022 US Open quarter-finals and then requiring wrist and knee surgeries. Source: AP / Ng Han Guan
The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up, who still plans to play doubles with buddy Thanasi Kokkinakis, said he didn’t expect to make it back to grand slam level.
“All the niggles, I guess, my body compensating with the wrist is tough,” he said.
“It’s just not enjoyable for me … I’m happy to play through a bit of discomfort.
Fearnley admitted to battling nerves ahead of the “rowdy” match and said he could tell Kyrgios was struggling.
“I could tell he was dealing with some stuff but I thought it was a great match,” he said in his on-court interview.
Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, who upset 28th-seeded Argentine Sebastian Baez in a five-set epic, awaits Fearnley in the second round.
