Nick Kyrgios ended his win drought on Wednesday after defeating Mackenzie McDonald 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the Miami Open. This was the Aussie’s first win since October 2022.
Kyrgios has struggled with injuries in the past two years and retired from the first round at Indian Wells earlier this month due to pain in his right wrist, on which he had surgery in September 2023.
“It has been a long journey even to get to the start line of matches and be scared to even be able to finish them,” he told Tennis TV. “So to come in and get a win and feel like I belong again, it’s pretty special.”
The 29-year-old also struggled with knee and foot injuries over an 18-month period, before making his comeback at the start of the year at the Australian Open.
Kyrgios had lost all three matches he played this year before this win in Florida.
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“I never thought I would play tennis again to be brutally honest with you”, Nick Kyrgios said.
“I was having conversations with my camp and my team… and I said: ‘I don’t know how long I can keep doing this for.”
The Australian started slow in the first round match against McDonald and went on to drop the first set. He managed to level the game on serve in the second set.
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In the decider, he hit a drop shot to set up a break point and converted when his American opponent double-faulted to hand Kyrgios a 4-3 lead.
From there he hit his booming serve to the finish line.
“This [win] puts some petrol in the tank but I need to be realistic and see how my wrist feels tomorrow because it is a grind out here”, he added.
Nick Kyrgios, who is ranked 892nd, entered the tournament with a protective ranking.
A protected ranking is calculated using the player’s average ranking over three months following their injury. They can use this ranking for the first nine tournaments or months following their comeback – whichever comes first. But if the player is out for more than a year, this is extended to 12 tournaments/months.
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Kyrgios, winner of seven titles – all on hard courts – has reached at least the fourth round in five Miami Open appearances for his most consistent Masters 1000 event.
“Something about Miami brings out my best stuff. I’m proud of the way I dug it out and competed. At this level you have to compete. I can’t believe I’m here with the surgery I went through and back in the winner’s corner,’’ he said.
Kyrgios will next face Russian Karen Khachanov, who got the better of him in an intense quarter-final at the 2022 U.S. Open.
