‘He’s back’: Nick Kyrgios blows tennis world away in return

Mercurial Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios returned to the court for the first time and showed he hasn’t missed a beat.

Nick Kyrgios is back. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

Nick Kyrgios is back.

The mercurial Australian tennis star returned to the court after 18 months away and is already lighting it up.

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Kyrgios teamed up with Novak Djokovic in a star-studded pairing at the Brisbane International on Monday night.

The unlikely duo claimed the opening set 6-4 against Alexander Erler and Andreas Mies, but it was in the second set when tennis’ greatest showman came to the party.

With the second set tied up at 3-3, Kyrgios delighted those in attendance by producing a tweener in the middle of a rally.

The tweener lob forced his opponents to back up as Kyrgios rushed the net before the ball was hit into the net.

Kyrgios took off in celebration as he sprinted around the arena.

Kyrgios you star. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

“What are we witnessing?” Peter Psaltis said on Nine’s coverage.

“Roll up, roll up. Entertainment plus.”

Djokovic gave chase before the duo hugged and celebrated the point.

“Have a look at the reaction from Novak. Do you ever see that on a tennis court from Novak?” John Millman added.

“He’s normally so locked in, playing every point as if it’s his last. He looks like he’s at the disco tech now.”

Tennis TV posted the absurd highlight play from Kyrgios while captioning the video: He’s back. @NickKyrgios up to his old tricks in his first match back.”

The duo were loving life. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Kyrgios’ moment of magic came after Djokovic produced his own piece of brilliance in the first set.

The former world number one went deep into his bag of tricks as he chased down a ball right near the umpires chair.

With only a sliver of space to play with, Djokovic sliced a backhand volley between the umpire’s chair and the net post and hit the winner past Erler.

“What a shot, vintage Djokovic,” Psaltis said on Nine.

“He didn’t do enough with this volley Mies but have a look at that, the smallest of gaps to get it in between the net post and umpire’s stand. He hits it with perfection,” John Millman added.

After dropping the second set, the star-studded duo went on to claim the tie-breaker 10-8 and advance into the second round where they’ll take on the number one seeded Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus.

Kyrgios will line-up for singles action on Tuesday, taking on Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Djokovic takes on Aussie Rinki Hijikata in the night session.

Originally published as ‘He’s back’: Nick Kyrgios blows tennis world away in return