Nick Kyrgios won a tennis match on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Australian was victorious for the first time since October of 2022 when he defeated Mackenzie McDonald 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in round one of the Miami Open. Kyrgios advanced in one hour and 42 minutes to set up a Friday showdown against Karen Khachanov.
Plagued by wrist and foot injuries, Kyrgios was playing his fourth match of the season and his fifth since the start of 2023. The former Wimbledon finalist retired from his Indian Wells opener two weeks ago but looked healthy for the most part throughout Wednesday’s win.
“It’s been a long journey,” Kyrgios assured. “Even to just get to the start line of matches and be scared to just finish them…. But to come off and get a win, feeling like I belong again, is pretty special.
“The way my wrist has pulled up the last six months hasn’t been great. Having a win against Mackie before gave me experience to draw from, but he’s so tricky, he definitely caught me off guard. I walked on the court and I wasn’t used to that ball speed again.”
Gael Monfils also advanced on Wednesday, becoming the second-oldest man behind Jimmy Connors to win a match at the Miami Masters. Monfils, 38, got past Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
nice one, NK