Kyrgios retires after another injury
NICK KYRGIOS suffered an injury setback just two weeks before the start of Wimbledon as he was forced to retire during his first round match at the Queen’s Club Championships in London yesterday.
The talented Australian maverick slipped awkwardly on the grass at the back of the court during a rally at 4-4 in the first set against American Donald Young, succumbing again to a recent, problematic hip injury.
After putting his head in his hands and lying on court for a few minutes after the slip, Kyrgios needed a medical time-out.
When he resumed, obviously in some discomfort, he went on to squander two break points before losing the first set 7-3 in a tie-break and then deciding to retire from the contest.
His withdrawal may have just been a precaution with Wimbledon so close, but it was another blow to the 22-year-old, whose hip and shoulder problems forced him to pull out of the Italian Open and blighted his French Open preparations.
“It just was a sharp pain when I fell,” the Australian told reporters. “I started feeling it when I was walking, when I was landing on my serve. It’s exactly what I was feeling in Paris. It’s tough to play through.
“It’s not great at the moment. But we’ll see.”
Despite the setback, he expects to play at Wimbledon, which begins on July 3.
“I’d play Wimbledon if I was injured pretty bad anyway,” he said. I’m here anyway. I don’t really have time to go home or anything. Yeah, I will be playing, for sure.”
Earlier, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had returned emphatically to winning ways at Queen’s, putting his shock first round exit at his home French Open firmly behind him.
Tsonga outplayed his compatriot Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-2 in the opening match of the traditional Wimbledon warm-up event in his first match since suffering a four-set defeat by little-known Argentine Renzo Olivo at Roland Garros.
If he can find his best form, Tsonga, who lost to Andy Murray in the 2011 Queen’s final, could be one of the major threats to world No. 1 Murray, who is seeking a sixth championship triumph.
So will Bulgaria’s sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov, on the evidence of his superb 6-3, 6-1 hammering of French Open men’s doubles champion Ryan Harrison in just 54 onesided minutes.
Murray opens the defence of his title against fellow Briton Aljaz Bedene. – Reuters