Nick Kyrgios has made a successful return to tennis with a win over Corentin Moutet at the Stuttgart Open.
Kyrgios last played singles in Brisbane in January, before playing doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open.
He has now made a significant comeback on grass in Stuttgart, where the wildcard defeated eighth seed Moutet 6-3, 6-4 in his first match on the surface in three years.
Kyrgios now takes on qualifier Sho Shimabukuro at the ATP 250 event, but has first reacted to his impressive opening win against the world number 36.
Nick Kyrgios is good for tennis – Prove me wrong!
Nick Kyrgios ‘emotional’ after beating Corentin Moutet in Stuttgart
Sharing his immediate reaction to the 69-minute victory, Kyrgios said in Germany: “Yeah, it’s quite emotional to be honest.
“I’ve had a lot of surgeries, and just to come back here, and I felt the love from the get-go. I’m so thrilled to be back and playing some high-level tennis as well.
“And Moutet is a great friend of mine, he’s one of our characters on tour that we should embrace. He’s always giving us entertainment, he wants to come out here and play.
“But I’m just pleased with the way I played today, I’m pleased with the way I’m feeling, my body, I’ve been putting in a lot of work.
“So I’m just really happy to be back. You guys are amazing. Honestly, there’s no other place I’d like to come to and put on a performance like that.”
And when asked if he’s feeling confident, he replied: “Yeah look, confident is.. I don’t know if that’s a word that I’m feeling just yet.
“Obviously I’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I mean, I had a wrist reconstruction, I’ve had four knee surgeries, so I’m really battling.
“But at the same time I’ve been putting in a lot of work, I’m feeling really good about myself. And I’ve got so many fans.
“Honestly, there was so many times where I was thinking, why am I playing, what more do I need to do? And I look at you guys, and this is why I’m playing, so I’ll hang around for a little longer.”
Nick Kyrgios shares his feelings about grass courts after winning return
Kyrgios also discussed his relationship with the grass-court season, which is now underway in both Germany and the Netherlands.
The Australian achieved his best result on the surface, reaching the 2022 Wimbledon final, which he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Referencing the Serbian when asked what the grass season means to him, he said: “Yeah it’s hell of a surface, that’s for sure.
“This is where tennis started. It’s tradition. You think of tennis and you think of the rich culture it has, and this is where it all started.
“I think about Roger Federer instantly when I think about a surface like this. Obviously my good friend Novak has had a lot of success.
“But it’s always been something that I grew up with. In Australia, we have a lot of grass courts, and we always played. So I feel comfortable on it.
“And Stuttgart has always been a nice place for me on the calendar. I’ve always played it, even when I was battling through injury. I showed up and I tried to play. It’s a really good event and I’m really happy that I got a win.”
Kyrgios is also playing doubles at the grass-court tournament, where he is pairing up with Alexander Bublik.
The iconic singles players have received a wildcard for the event, and will meet Jakub Paul and Ryan Seggerman in their opening match.
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