Not in good nick but good enough
NICK Kyrgios insists he will be able to manage a knee injury through to an Australian Open campaign but sent a scare through Brisbane International organisers early in his debut win at the event.
Kyrgios gamely completed a tenacious 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 win over Australian No.2 Matt Ebden yesterday despite being clearly restricted at times in his movement.
The Australian Davis Cup mainstay called a trainer to treat his left knee twice in the first set of his second-round win and again at the mandatory break between the first two sets at Pat Rafter Arena, saying later that the knee improved as the match played on to a 2hr 12min duration.
Kyrgios later said that the knee injury did not threaten his chances of mounting a worthwhile Australian Open campaign
Asked if the injury could be managed through to the Australian Open, which starts on Monday week, Kyrgios said: “Of course, I’m sure I will be fine.
“I have been nursing it for the last day or two and didn’t really know what it was.
“I had some fluid in the back of my knee, the physio said. It only hurt me when I straightened my leg.
“It took me a while to get used to playing a match again. The longer the match went, the looser I got.’’
Kyrgios, the world No.21, said he intended to play his second-round doubles match with Matt Reid, another stop on a long fitness road to the business rounds of the Australian Open.
If he has no adverse injury reaction, Kyrgios, 22, will play Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov tomorrow for a place in Saturday’s Brisbane International semi-finals.
As the first set progressed, the strapping around Kyrgios’ left knee grew more substantial and a source of concern for Brisbane organisers who had lost drawcards Rafael Nadal (knee), Andy Murray (hip), Garbine Muguruza (cramp) and Kei Nishikori (wrist) because of fitness worries.
Ebden, ranked No.76, was able to expose Kyrgios’ apparent lack of acceleration, but the Canberra product refused to go away and won the second- set tiebreak.
When the West Australian gained his first two break points of the match in the first game of the third set, Kyrgios prevailed with his serve and broke two service games to win his first main-draw match at the Brisbane International.
Kyrgios’ critics could give him credit for finishing the match, the most recent singles outing since he was fined $12,840 and docked another $27,071 in prizemoney by the ATP for walking out of a match in China without providing a medical reason to staff.
There will be some who claim Kyrgios should not have fitness problems at the start of a year, especially after last playing a tournament in mid-October.
He admitted he had played too much basketball in the pre-season before his second-round loss at the Australian Open last summer against Italian Andreas Seppi.
But Kyrgios said in an interview last month that he had heeded that lesson.