Nick Kyrgios has made a successful return to tennis at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, outclassing Casper Rudd 17-8, 21-9, 15-11 to book his spot in the semi-finals in New York.
Kyrgios has played three matches since make the quarter-finals of the US Open two years ago and had reconstructive wrist surgery 11 months ago.
The 29-year-old looked the goods though, thrashing the Norwegian in his return.
“What a way to come back,” he said after the match.
“I wasn’t expecting to play this well at all. Coming out here and still having that level, it’s amazing.
“Let’s see if we can string a couple of matches together.”
Kyrgios served at a high level across the match, striking his serve at an average of 164 km/h in the first quarter.
It was comeback to remember for ‘King Kyrgios’ (his nickname for the event), consistently hitting winners on Rudd in a style he is well known for.
“I’m surprised, but I’m not that surprised. I’ve been putting in some serious work, every single day back home,” Kyrgios said about the level he produced in the match.
“I didn’t know if I was going to play tennis again with the state of my wrist. It was literally conversations of never playing again.
“It was awesome. It was very fast, I could feel my lungs burning. Thank f*** I put in some work back home.”
Also at the UTS, Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Alexander Bublik in what was the longest-ever sudden death match in UTS history, 20-12, 11-17, 18-17, 10-20, 5-3.
El Greco, as he was nicknamed for the event, struggled to adapt to the faster-paced, noisier UTS format.
“I’m used to taking my time, you know,” he said post-match.
“Everything is rushed, I’m trying to adapt. It’s not easy.”
Tsitsipas will play a consolation match on Saturday to close off his participation.
Hellenic mates go face to face
The opening round of the US Open next week is set for a Greek showdown as Thanasi Kokkinakis faces Tsitsipas.
This will be only the second time the two meet head to head, they last played against each other at the 2021 Australian Open where Tsitsipas emerged winner.
The Greek and the Greek Aussie do happen to be good friends though and even teamed up for doubles action for the first time earlier this year at the Miami Open.
Whoever wins, Tsitsipas is the odds-on favourite, they are expected to face the winner of the Borges-Coria match in the second round of the tournament, while in the third it is very likely that Felix Oze Aliassim will be waiting for him.
The 26-year-old has never reached the final 16 at the US Open, but if he is to this year, then Tsitsipas will likely compete against Daniil Medvedev.
