By Rory Carroll
INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – A bitterly disappointed Nick Kyrgios said he was getting worried that injuries were stopping him from finishing matches after the former Wimbledon finalist retired from his first-round contest at Indian Wells on Thursday due to pain in his right wrist.
The Australian showed flashes of brilliance as he battled back from 4-1 down in the first set against Botic van de Zandschulp before losing a tight tiebreaker, where he had a set point, in front of a supportive crowd.
However, Kyrgios tearfully threw in the towel in the second set due to sharp pain in his surgically repaired wrist while trailing 7-6(7) 3-0.
“We go back to the drawing board as a team and we try and figure out a way to get through these matches,” Kyrgios told reporters.
“I would have loved to be able to finish that match, even if I lose just as a building block to say, okay, I went out there and was competing with a very good player, and I had chances and set points and breakpoints.
“But now if I’m not finishing matches that becomes a concern.”
Kyrgios hinted that he might not play singles at the Australian Open again after his first-round loss there in January and said there was no roadmap back from the injury that has plagued him for nearly two years.
“No one in the sport has had a wrist reconstruction and tried to play after that,” he said.
“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, okay, 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.”
Kyrgios, who turns 30 next month, said there were times during Thursday’s match when he forgot about his injury problems and was just happy to be playing again.
“I had glimpses of it tonight with the crowd going absolutely ballistic, and I’m playing amazing and I’m enjoying being out there,” said Kyrgios, who has won seven titles and reached the Wimbledon final in 2022.
“The pain, it’s not great. I don’t know. I’ll just keep looking forward and try and do the right thing.”
Kyrgios hoped he would feel healthy enough to compete at the Miami Open but there was little time for recovery.
“Obviously the time frame of Miami is not ideal, but I was scheduled to play that, so I will see how my wrist responds,” he said.
“And if not Miami, I will keep looking forward.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Indian Wells; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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