A devastated Nick Kyrgios said he doesn't know what else he can do to get his tennis career back on track after pain in his surgically reconstructed right wrist forced him out of Indian Wells.
Kyrgios had a set point in the first set but lost the tiebreaker and trailed 3-0 in the second when he called a halt, sending Dutch lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp into a second round meeting with Novak Djokovic.
It was the latest setback for Kyrgios, who hasn't won an ATP match since 2022. He had extensive wrist surgery in September 2023 to address debilitating pain that affected him not only on the court but also doing simple tasks like turning a doorknob.
"No one in the sport has had a wrist reconstruction and tried to play after that," said Kyrgios, who was sidelined for 18 months. "There's been players that have had wrist surgeries and nowhere near as bad as what I had.
"It would be nice if someone had this injury prior if I could just go there and ask them, OK, these are setbacks you were having.
"It's all an experiment at this point. I was told I was arguably maybe not ever playing tennis again. I feel I'm like right there, I feel like I can compete.
"This guy (van de Zandschulp) beat (Carlos) Alcaraz at US Open in straight sets, and I've got set points against him in the first set. I'm there, but if I'm not able to finish matches it doesn't really matter at this point."
Kyrgios said he knew it would be touch and go after pain in his wrist forced him to stop practicing earlier this week.
- Sharp pain -
"After Australian Open, all I did was rehab, train, and then try and get ready for this tournament," Kyrgios said.
"I was two days out of the tournament here and I was having a great training session, and literally the second-to-last point in my training session I hit a forehand, I felt a sharp pain, and I had to stop playing.
"I guess, I don't know, we go back to the drawing board as a team, and we just try and figure out and navigate a way to just get through these matches.
"I would have loved to be able to finish that match even if I lose just as a building block, to say, OK, I went out there and was competing with a very good player, and I had chances and set points and breakpoints.
"So it's like these building blocks, but now if I'm not finishing matches that becomes a concern."
Kyrgios said he hadn't given up on the idea of playing the Miami Open, which starts on March 19.
"Obviously the time frame of Miami is not ideal, but, you know, I was scheduled to play that, so I will see how my wrist responds," he said.
And he's not ready to give up on the game.
"This is all I've done since I was seven years old is play tennis," Kyrgios said. "I want to go out there and I want to compete."
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