Nick Kyrgios was unable to progress beyond the second round of the Brisbane International, as he suffered a defeat at the hands of Jeremy Chardy, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.
Kyrgios appeared to be affected by his spider bite injury throughout the game and was unable to find a response to the pressure Chardy applied on him.
This loss will see Kyrgios fall outside the top 50 of the rankings for the first time since 2015, which means that he will not be seeded for the Australian Open, however he doesn’t seem too affected by this fact.
“I couldn’t care less,” he stated. “I feel like no matter who I play, I’ve got a fair shot if I play the right style of tennis and I’m feeling good.
But at this age, I’m not even thinking about it.”
Kyrgios will now appear at the FAST4 Showdown in Sydney, a tournament that will include world number two Rafa Nadal, before the Australian Open, and Kyrgios seems to be relaxed in heading towards his next obligations:
“My focus now is the Australian Open. I’m just glad to have a couple of days now just to chill out, get my body recovered and just go again.”
It should be noted that even though Kyrgios had won the previous edition of the Brisbane International, his spider-induced injury led him to remain off the courts for an extended period of time.
“Every time I have a rally, it feels foreign. I don’t really know what I’m doing,” he said.