Norrie wins and Kyrgios’ return ends in defeat

Cameron Norrie fought off three match points to secure his place in the second round while Nick Kyrgios’ first ATP Tour appearance since March ended in a defeat at the Brisbane International.

Australian Kyrgios, 30, was defeated by Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-4 in just 65 minutes. He had only played six ATP singles matches in the previous three years and was given a wildcard for the event.

The defeat comes after Kyrgios won last month’s exhibition match against Aryna Sabalenka, the female world number one.

In the end, Norrie and American Kovacevic would share the stage in the next round after defeating Frenchman Ugo Humbert 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-5.

After suffering a number of severe injuries in recent years, Kyrgios, who is currently ranked 670th, wants to improve his fitness so that he can qualify for the Australian Open, which will take place on January 18 in Melbourne.

He won a point with one of his signature underarm serves in the second set while he appeared to be clutching his elbow in disarray with the 58th-ranked Kovacevic.

Kyrgios’ chances of winning his first Grand Slam since his first-round defeat by Jacob Fearnley at his home tournament in 2025 will suffer as a result.

Since reaching the 2022 Wimbledon final, he has had multiple surgeries on his wrist and knee, but he said he is “still very proud” of himself for making a comeback.

As Kyrgios reflected on his injury journey, he said, “I thought I was the best player in the world.”

“I guess these operations kind of pull you down and make you feel like you don’t have that belief anymore,” you may say. In some ways, it’s depressing, but that’s just the way it is.

They believe that you simply go under the knife and come back, sit on the couch until he recovers, and you throw him back out there until he is the same player, I believe the people there believe. Simply put, that is not how it is.