Nick Kyrgios lost out in his men’s singles comeback at the Brisbane International after 18 months out with wrist and knee injuries.
The 29-year-old Australian lost a three-set epic to Giovanni Mbeche Pericard 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3) in a match that lasted two hours and 27 minutes. Where Kyrgios proved his fitness.
The player, who reached the final of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, made a victorious return to tennis on Monday when he participated with Novak Djokovic in a wonderful duo, where they defeated Alexander Erler and Andreas Mies 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 10-8.
Djokovic and Kyrgios will return to men’s doubles action on Wednesday against top seeds Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus.
In another men’s singles match held on Tuesday, Frances Tiafoe defeated Australian Adam Walton 7-5 (7-5), 6-3. Sebastian Korda, ranked fifth and ranked 22nd in the world, also withdrew due to a lower back injury.
Earlier, Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s world number one and two-time Australian Open champion, started her singles campaign in Brisbane with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Renata Zarazua.
After a first-round bye, it took Sabalenka just 63 minutes to reach the third round, showing strong potential for a triple win at Melbourne Park starting January 12.
“The first match is always difficult to know your level of tennis,” Sabalenka said. “I’m happy that I finished the first set and in the second I felt like whatever I was going to do would work.”
Sabalenka will play in the third round with Yulia Putintseva, seeded 15th, after defeating Kesler-McCartney 6-2, 7-5.
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