As Nick Kyrgios returned to the singles court for just the second time in more than two years, he found himself digesting a dose of his own bitter medicine. No matter where he stood or which direction he shifted towards against the imperium serve of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, aces continued to freely fly past him. At one point of their Brisbane International match, a brutal body serve crashed directly into him, stopping him in his tracks.
The 7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) scoreline after three inevitable tie-breaks was, in some ways, an extremely fitting result, with Kyrgios ending up on the wrong end. The last time the 29-year-old competed regularly on tour, he was one of the top two servers in the world, but the world of tennis moves quickly and time waits for no one.
Having started 2024 ranked outside the top 200, Mpetshi Perricard blazed up the rankings, winning titles in Lyon and Basel, an ATP 500 event, and reaching the top 30. The 21-year-old’s success has been driven by his nuclear serve, which he freely fires down from his 2.03m (6ft 8in) frame.
The power, accuracy and consistency behind his destructive first serve is spectacular enough but what further separates the French player is what he does with his second. Last year, Mpetshi Perricard averaged a blistering 135mph behind his first serve and his second serve speeds were only marginally slower at 123mph. He tends to aim towards higher percentage targets and further from the lines on his second serve, but essentially plays with two first serves.
On Tuesday, the Frenchman’s serve dominance forced Kyrgios into an unfamiliar role. For once, the Australian had to be the cooler, steadier player. He fared well, keeping his opponent on the move and his error count low with precise, high-percentage ball striking.
As he continues to nurse his recovering right wrist, which required attention from the doctor during the match, Kyrgios’s service speeds were considerably lower than two years ago but he still placed his serve well, took care of his own service games and swept up the vast majority of neutral exchanges. Aside from a soft warning from the umpire, he maintained his composure throughout.
So much has happened since Kyrgios was last a regular fixture on the tour. In 2022, he enjoyed by far the best season of his career, reaching his first grand slam final at Wimbledon after Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament before their scheduled semi-final. Just as it seemed that Kyrgios’s career was coming together, though, everything fell apart.
Over the past two years, Kyrgios suffered from a variety of physical issues, including knee surgery and even a foot injury after an armed robbery in his home. It was, however, a significant wrist injury that left him unable to open bottles and fearing for his career. He secretly underwent an anatomical front and back wrist reconstruction last year.
During his extended absence, Kyrgios pleaded guilty to an assault charge in 2023 for shoving his former girlfriend Chiara Passari during an argument. Magistrate Beth Campbell, however, opted against convicting Kyrgios due to her belief that the assault was “low-level”.
More recently, Kyrgios has taken up numerous broadcasting jobs, from punditry to podcasting. He has been one of the most outspoken players on the tour after the announcements that Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek tested positive for banned substances. Despite his repeated comments on the issue, however, Kyrgios does not appear to have educated himself on the case by reading the published decisions.
He departed the tennis court on Tuesday to a thunderous ovation from his home crowd, having shown that he remains at his best when focused and in full flow on-court. He finished the day satisfied with his performance and conscious of the significance of returning to professional tennis again after so long.
“I’ve got six holes in my hand and one in my arm,” said Kyrgios. “Not one tennis player has ever had this surgery and come back and tried to play again. It’s all really experimental. The surgeon, [was] like: ‘If you ever go back and play at this level again, it’s on you guys.’ I don’t really have any protocol of how it’s going to be or how it’s going to pull up. So me and my physio, we are taking it as it comes. If we can get through a match, we get through a match. How it pulls up tomorrow, I have no idea. It’s throbbing right now.”
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic opened his season in Brisbane with a solid 6-3, 6-3 win over the home favourite Rinky Hijikata to set up a second-round match with Gaël Monfils. Aryna Sabalenka eased past Renata Zarazúa 6-4, 6-0.
