Nick Kyrgios celebrates return from injury with Novak Djokovic doubles victory
Kyrgios and Djokovic teamed up to defeat Austria’s Alexander Erler and Germany’s Andreas Mies.
Nick Kyrgios marked his return from injury with an entertaining doubles victory alongside Novak Djokovic in the Brisbane International.
Kyrgios and Djokovic, who faced each other in the Wimbledon singles final in 2022, teamed up to defeat Austria’s Alexander Erler and Germany’s Andreas Mies 6-4 6-7 (4) 10-8, with Kyrgios sealing the win with an ace.
The 29-year-old, who had played just one match in more than two years due to injury, said in a courtside interview: “This injury has been brutal for me so I wasn’t taking any of this for granted.
“I don’t know how many Aussie summers I’ve got left so I was just looking around and loving the energy and just so happy to be back out here.
“We promised that we were going to do this one more time before either he (Djokovic) goes or I go so I’m glad we’re still alive!”
Kyrgios initially underwent knee surgery in January 2023 and returned to action in June of that year, but played only one match before pulling out of Wimbledon due to a torn ligament in his right wrist.
He had not played a competitive match since and it appeared doubtful that he would be able to return, but he is playing both doubles and singles in Brisbane and faces France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Tuesday.
Djokovic, who produced a superb backhand winner around the net to help secure the only break of the match in the first set, said: “That was awesome.
“I want to thank Nick for playing. He said the other day it should be a pleasure to play with him and it is.
“I’m glad to share the court with him on his comeback. I haven’t played that many doubles matches in my life, so whatever Nick was saying I was following.
“I feel great. Cannot ask for a better start to the season, sharing the court with Nick for the first time, winning the match and getting a little bit of a feel for the court.
“I played my last competitive tournament a few months ago, I ended my season quite early, just wanted to get my things together, physically recover and work really on perfecting my game as much as I can
“There’s a lot of great players, really quick, dynamic, powerful players nowadays, youngsters that I have to keep up with.”
Former British number one Cameron Norrie enjoyed a hard-fought victory over American Learner Tien in the Hong Kong Open, the left-hander battling to a 6-3 7-5 win in an hour and 38 minutes.
Tien looked set to force a decider when he served for the second set at 5-3, only for Norrie to claim the next four games in a row, including a break of serve to lead 6-5 in a game which lasted almost 11 minutes.
“Honestly it was a tough match throughout,” Norrie said in an on-court interview.
“I really played a high level, so did he. I knew he’s a top player, he won a lot of matches in 2024 and he’s been playing really well in the NextGen and I know he’s a young and up-and-coming player.
“He hits the ball flat, he’s very, very calm. I was really impressed with his attitude on the court and I had to tough him out in the end. I was down a break in the second and in that really long game at 5-5 I got a bit fortunate.
“Nothing but respect for Learner. He’s going to be a great player.”
