Why Kyrgios says he’d need a ‘miracle’ to get through the Australian Open

Brisbane: A wounded Nick Kyrgios believes he needs close to a “miracle” for his surgically repaired wrist to hold up in this year’s Australian Open after his singles comeback fell narrowly short in Brisbane.

Kyrgios stopped short of guaranteeing he would play in Melbourne after ascending French star Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard outlasted him, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3), in the Australian’s first singles match in 18 months because of a serious right wrist setback.

Nick Kyrgios went head-to-head with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.Credit: Getty Images

Knee surgery also kept him sidelined for the previous six months to that.

Kyrgios, whose wrist was heavily taped, requested the trainer after the first set against Mpetshi Perricard and subsequently had his right bicep massaged, but he was able to complete the final two sets without any further interruptions.

The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up was pleased with how he played, but revealed he played in significant pain.

“I was really excited for the Aus Open, but after today – obviously I’m [still] super excited. If I’m able to play, I’m able to play. But the reality kind of set in to me,” Kyrgios said.

“That’s a best-of-three [sets] match with my wrist. If I’m able to [play] – not only is a grand slam mentally really draining, like you’re there for two-and-a-half, three weeks [but] it’s, like, physically a grind.

“It’s one of the hardest things to do in any sport, is win a grand slam in men’s tennis. I think I almost need a miracle, and I need the stars to align for my wrist to hold up in a grand slam, for sure. Today, if this was a grand slam, we may still be out on court, and I don’t know how I’d pull up the next day or the day after.”

Kyrgios said he felt like he had “been hit by a bus” after his straight-sets doubles victory alongside 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic, which makes it all the more impressive how well he performed.

Djokovic began his singles campaign in Brisbane with a routine 6-3, 6-3 success over young Australian Rinky Hijikata.

Kyrgios is due back on court in doubles with Djokovic on Wednesday against top seeds Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus, but there must be some doubt on whether he plays.

He revealed that his long-time personal physiotherapist Will Maher was treating him for up to four hours a day to get him on the court.

“It’s laughable, in the sense of how much my wrist needs now just to go out there and play a first round,” Kyrgios said.

Mpetshi Perricard celebrates his victory over Kyrgios.Credit: Getty Images

Kyrgios will head back to Canberra once his Brisbane commitments end, and will decide in that period whether he will push on to the Australian Open.

“I will see my dog. That’s the first thing I want to do, then I’ll just see how my wrist pulls up from the load of this week,” he said.

“First of all, that’s the priority. If it feels good, we start building back up on the tennis courts, start going back to work, [then] we head to Melbourne … I don’t have any plan after the Australian Open tennis-wise, to be honest.

“I’m really confident I could play the Australian Open. It’s just depending on how my body is; how much tennis I can play. I guess that’s what I will do. Go home for a couple of days and get ready for the Open.”

Mpetshi Perricard, a six-foot-eight Frenchman, was the ATP Tour’s most improved player in 2024 after surging more than 170 ranking spots to No.31, and looks a future powerhouse.

The 21-year-old sent an ominous warning with a 226km/h fault on his first serve of the match – producing audible gasps across Pat Rafter Arena – and did not stop ambushing Kyrgios with outrageously big serves. He finished with 36 aces and won 89 per cent of first-serve points.

Kyrgios had a single opening in the first set on Mpetshi Perricard’s serve.

He twice drew errors from his French opponent’s racquet after returns at two-all in the first set to reduce him to 0-30, but Mpetshi Perricard shut the door with the next four points.

In fact, Mpetshi Perricard won 21 of his next 22 points on serve on his way to a one-set lead, including a gutsy 216km/h second serve to go 4-1 up in the tiebreak.

It was nothing new from a player who averaged almost 210 km/h on second serves during his inaugural ATP title run in Basel in October. The tour’s all-time aces leader, retired American John Isner, believes Mpetshi Perricard will be a “nightmare” for most players across the next decade-plus.

Even so, Kyrgios caned a forehand pass winner in the sixth game of the second set to bring up dual break points that Mpetshi Perricard swatted away in a blink of an eye with a pair of aces.

He had to survive three deuces before holding serve, but Kyrgios continued to battle – and even cheekily delivered an under-arm serve to complete a love service hold that gave him a 5-4 edge.

That was another box checked on the Kyrgios bingo card after he attempted an ill-advised ’tweener in the first set that thudded into the net during an otherwise routine baseline rally.

But there was also plenty of substance about Kyrgios’ performance. With the Mpetshi Perricard first serve going slightly off the boil, the Canberran’s chances soared.

One wayward Mpetshi Perricard backhand on the second point of the tiebreak was all it took for Kyrgios’ confidence to soar – and he forced a third set soon after.

Kyrgios had to stave off a break point in the second game of the final set, but did not concede a point in his five following service games entering the tiebreak. As tiebreakers can be, it took one moment to doom the Australian firebrand.

Mpetshi Perricard jumped all over a Kyrgios second serve with an aggressive return that took his rival by surprise and put the Frenchman ahead for good.

Kyrgios’ exit capped a tough day for Australia.

Seventh seed Alexei Popyrin suffered a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Italian Matteo Arnaldi, while Queensland wildcard Adam Walton went down 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to fourth-seeded American Frances Tiafoe despite having two set points in the opener.

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