Nick Kyrgios’ Indian Wells campaign came to a difficult end as injury ended his chances of victory.
The 29-year-old took to the court for the first time since the Australian Open and there were doubts around his fitness prior to the contest.
Two days before his match Kyrgios ended a practice session early due to some discomfort in his wrist.
Unfortunately for the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up, the same problem left unable to complete his first round contest at Indian Wells.
Will Nick Kyrgios play at the Miami Open despite injuring his wrist at Indian Wells?
There was uncertainty around whether Nick Kyrgios would play at Indian Wells following the wrist injury sustained during his practice session.
But he found a way to take to the court to face Botic van de Zandschulp for a place in the second round. The Dutchman was leading 7-6, 3-0, before deciding he could no longer continue due to the pain in his wrist.
Kyrgios was left in tears when it dawned on him that he would not be able to keep playing, and left the court due to cheers from the crowd.
During his post-match press conference, Kyrgios opened up on whether his re-injured wrist will keep him out of the Miami Open, which commences on March 16, the day of the Indian Wells men’s final.
“The pain is not great but I’ll just keep moving forward trying to do the right thing. Obviously the time frame for Miami is not ideal,” Kyrgios told reporters.
“But that’s where I was scheduled to play so I’ll see how my wrist responds and if not Miami then I’ll keep looking forward. I can’t keep looking back and being disappointed.”
Nick Kyrgios’ wrist injury ends his Indian Wells campaign to an end
Despite any concerns around his wrist injury, Kyrgios played a competitive first set against Van de Zandschulp.
The first set was a competitive one, as Kyrgios rallied from 1-4 down to level at 4-4, and after the set went to a tiebreak, Van de Zandschulp took it 7-6.
After the Dutchman had opened up a 3-0 lead on his opponent, Kyrgios called the trainer to look at his wrist, before deciding he was in too much pain and could not continue. Post-match, Kyrgios opened up on why he felt emotional on court.
“It’s just more so I guess the amount of work I’ve put in to get back, and just to know that it’s not — like, I can play some, there are glimpses of some really good tennis that I can still play,” he said.
“I guess this process has probably been one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in my life. In reality, it’s not too bad, but for my tennis career, it’s by far the biggest. Yeah, just the amount of work that goes in when I go back home or when I’m not playing, it’s not fun.”
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