(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Nick Kyrgios urged his fans to be patient with him as he promised to return to his old level. On Tuesday, Kyrgios played his first ATP match of the 2023 season. In his first match back, Kyrgios suffered a surprise 5-7 3-6 defeat to Yibing Wu in the Stuttgart first round.
Kyrgios had knee surgery in January before sustaining a foot injury during the theft of his car on May 2nd. “Be patient with me my fans please. It’s a process to get back to where I was. I know it’s hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was,” Kyrgios said.
Be patient with me my fans please…. It’s a process to get back to where I was. I know it’s hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was. — Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 13, 2023
Kyrgios falls to Wu in his first match back
Kyrgios had a chance to go up by an early break but he missed out on a break point in the first game of the match.
Kyrgios had his second break point of the match in the 11th game but again failed to convert. In the 12th game – when Kyrgios was serving to stay in the first set – the first break of the match was seen as Wu broke the Australian to clinch the opener.
After winning the first set, Wu earned the first break of the second set in the eighth game to open a 5-3 lead. In the ninth game, Wu served out for a straight-set win over Kyrgios. “The last time I played on grass was juniors back in 2017, so six years.
I was really happy to play Nick in the first round. He’s one of the best players on grass and he served well. He aced me [so many] times. The key for me was to stay cool, stay patient in the game and find a way. I’m happy [with that result]” Wu said after beating Kyrgios. Next week, Kyrgios is playing in Halle.