Nick Kyrgios on Monday downplayed concerns he could miss Wimbledon after retiring with an injury one set into his opening match at the Aegon Championships grass-court tournament at Queen’s in London.
In the latest injury setback for the hot-headed Australian, Kyrgios slipped at the back of the court during the second point of the ninth game against Donald Young, with the score at 4-4.
Kyrgios required treatment on his left hip during a medical timeout, but continued playing despite not moving freely in hot conditions in west London.
Photo: AFP
After losing a tiebreaker 7-3, the ninth seed headed straight for his bag, put away his racket, shook hands with Young and walked off.
Asked if he would be fit for Wimbledon, which starts on July 3, Kyrgios said: “Yeah, 100 percent.”
“I mean I’d play Wimbledon if I was injured pretty bad anyway. I’m here anyway. I don’t really have time to go home or anything. Yeah, I will be playing, for sure,” he said.
Kyrgios said in the buildup to the match that he has had hip trouble for the past seven months, but was now playing without pain. He has also been troubled with soreness in his right shoulder and began the match on Centre Court with strapping round his right knee.
He shouted in pain, clutched his hip and covered his face with his hands while lying on the ground following his fall, which came after he was wrong-footed by a shot from Young.
“I have been playing with a sore hip for a long time. I felt it was painful and it’s not really worth it,” the world No. 20 said.
Asked what he would be doing instead this week, Kyrgios said with a smile: “Dog and Fox.”
That was a reference to a pub located close to Wimbledon.
Earlier, fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-2, while sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov defeated Ryan Harrison 6-3, 6-1.
In the final game on Centre Court, Denis Shapovalov beat Kyle Edmund 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4 for a much happier ending than his previous match against the British player.
In February, while playing a Davis Cup match for Canada against Britain in Ottawa, Shapovalov was disqualified for smashing in anger a tennis ball that struck umpire Arnaud Gabas, who suffered a fractured eye socket.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to forget about it, but I think I’ve moved on from it,” Shapovalov said.
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