Nick Kyrgios makes retirement announcement after Aus Open comeback
Nick Kyrgios has made a candid admission about his participation in future Australian Opens as his comeback ended in tears.
The 29-year-old returned to Melbourne after two years from the AO away to nurse an injury, although his return ended in disappointment in a straight-sets loss to Brit Jacob Fearnley.
Many spectators were quick to point out that Kyrgios didn't seem like himself as his injury was affecting his serve and his endurance on the court.
After looking down and out, he fought to the very end before crashing to the 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) loss.
Speaking after the match, Kyrgios said he was “heartbroken” at being unable to perform at his show-stopping best, but added that he only played on for the packed John Cain Arena crowd cheering him on.
“Realistically I can’t see myself playing singles again here,” he said.
“It was special (atmosphere), taking that in, it was pretty good. I knew that I have doubles so I kind of was taking everything in tonight, in those moments, it was nuts."
“I didn’t want to just throw in the towel and walk off or retire. I was hurting physically but I respect my opponent and the fans that waited hours to come see me play.”
He later added: “Honestly, the reason I kept playing, tried to play tonight, was because of the fans. As I said, I don’t know how many times I’m going to be back here again."
“That’s why I didn’t have headphones on, I wasn’t listening to music. I walked out there today, wanted to hear the crowd. There were some special moments.”
Kyrgios still plans to team up with Thanasi Kokkinakis in the doubles and will continue to play out the season in singles.
“It’s hard. When you’re competing for the biggest tournaments in the world and you’re struggling to win sets physically, it’s pretty tough,” he continued.
“But I’ve still got a long year ahead. I’m trusting the process that I can still be able to do some cool things this year at some stage.”
Despite the immediate devastation, Kyrgios was targeting a deep run at Wimbledon.
“Obviously Wimbledon is a big one for me. I still feel like obviously, if I don’t have an abdominal strain, I feel when I sustained that five days before a grand slam, it’s not ideal,” he said.
“Hopefully, if my body’s feeling good, I’ll be able to make some noise at Wimbledon.”
Image credits: Rachel Bach/Shutterstock Editorial