Emotional Kyrgios storms to long-awaited win in Miami

An emotional Nick Kyrgios feels like he finally “belongs” again after notching his first tour victory in two and a half years at the prestigious Miami Open.

Kyrgios laid bare his self doubts, saying he feared his career was over, after recovering from a set down to defeat American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the $14.5 million Masters 1000 event on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).

The win was his first in a tour-level match since the Japan Open in October 2022 and set up a second-round encounter with Russian Karen Khachanov, the last man to play Kyrgios in a grand slam singles at the US Open a couple of months before that Tokyo event.

“It’s been a long journey just to even get to the start line of matches and then being scared to even finish them, so to come off and get a win and then feel I like I belong again, it’s pretty special,” Kyrgios said, reflecting on his wretched run with wrist and knee injuries.

“Honestly, I thought I would never play tennis again, to be brutally honest with you. It was going that way.

“I’ve had conversations with my camp, with my team - guys that are leaving their families to be here with me to try to get me on court and I was like ‘I don’t know how long I can keep doing this for’.

“But obviously this puts a bit more petrol in the tank, but I need to be realistic. I’ll see how my wrist pulls up tomorrow because it is a grind out here.”

Playing on an injury-protected ranking after spiralling out of the top 1000, the one-time world No.17 and 2022 Wimbledon finalist said his “tough” ordeal had left him wondering how he could ever compete again on tour.

“Honestly, I saw the draw and didn’t feel confident about versing anyone,” said Kyrgios.

“The way my wrist has pulled up the last six months hasn’t been great, but having one (previous) win against ‘Macka’, having something to draw from experience helped.

“But he’s such a good player, so tricky, and he definitely caught me off guard. I walked onto the court and I wasn’t used to that ball speed again.”

Kyrgios came into the Miami tournament after an early exit at Indian Wells, where the 29-year-old retired with a wrist injury while trailing Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (9-7) 3-0 in his opening match.

The win also comes after the Australian was named as one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the Professional Tennis Players’ Association against the sport’s governing bodies, accusing them of anti-competitive practices and a disregard for player welfare.

The PTPA, an independent players’ union co-founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil in 2019 says after years of good-faith efforts to reform professional tennis, it has been forced to take legal action to end “monopolistic control” of the sport.

Twelve current and former players, including Djokovic, Pospisil and Kyrgios, are listed as plaintiffs along with the PTPA.

The now-world No.892 joined two other Australian winners on Wednesday, with Rinky Hijikata also digging deep to see off Hamad Medjedovic 7-5 3-6 7-5 and set up a tantalising second-round date with another, rather more illustrious Serb, Novak Djokovic.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for world No.86 Hijikata, up against the 24-time grand slam winner who’s been looking vulnerable.

Since his Australian Open semi-final retirement against Alexander Zverev through injury, Djokovic has not won a match, getting knocked out early in Doha and Indian Wells.

Qualifier Tristan Schoolkate trounced American qualifier Ethan Quinn 6-0 6-2, with the 24-year-old from Perth next playing Canada’s 18th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

But Aleksandar Vukic and Chris O’Connell both bowed out.

Vukic lost 2-6 6-4 6-2 to Belgian veteran David Goffin, before O’Connell went down 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) to Roberto Carballes Baena.

With PA