Nick Kyrgios has fired the first shot in his comeback bid, shocking world No. 8 Casper Ruud in just his second event in almost two years. Subscribe now for unlimited access .
Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue Kyrgios beat Ruud in the exhibition UTS event in New York on the eve of the US Open. The Canberran had low expectations after playing just three matches since the 2022 US Open, but was in sublime form and made easy work of Ruud in his return . "It means the world to be back, it's been a rough journey.
What a way to come back," Kyrgios said. "I wasn't expecting to play this well at all. Coming out here and still having that level, it's amazing .
.. I'm surprised, but I'm not that surprised.
I've been putting in some serious work, every single day back home. "Obviously pretty emotional, it's been a brutal 11 months. I didn't know if I was going to play tennis again with the state of my wrist.
It was literally conversations of never playing again. "Casper's probably one of the best players in the world, so one of the best ways to test my wrist." Kyrgios has been training in Canberra to get his body ready to return after knee and wrist problems derailed his career just as many were tipping him to be a grand slam contender.
Nick Kyrgios.