Now, he’s past the opening hurdle at a tournament for the first time since October 2022, and set to face No. 22 seed Karen Khachanov in the second round:
Q: Your first match win on tour since 2022; what goes through your mind when you hear that?
KYRGIOS: I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty close to crying on court. I just think about the last two years, and it’s been pretty brutal to be honest. I was in a cast for 12 weeks, couldn’t move my wrist, and the surgeons were saying I’d never play again.
And I was listening to a lot of the outside noise, you know, about whether I’d be able to play at this level, and win. Playing is one thing, but winning matches and executing is another thing. So yeah, I can’t believe it.
I don’t think it’s sunk in yet—because I used to actually win a fair bit! So at the same time it feels normal. I don’t think it’s really sunk in that I was in a place where I couldn’t hit a fluffy tennis ball to now beating a solid player.
It’s pretty surreal, but I know the tournament is not over and I haven’t won the tournament or anything.
