Enjoy the career of Nick Kyrgios while it lasts; Novak Djokovic; Brisbane International

Kyrgios and Djokovic thoroughly entertained the crowd in their two matches but, more importantly, Kyrgios’ ailing body clearly needs some rest ahead of the Australian Open.

The Brisbane commitments of Australia’s most watchable tennis star are over after his nail-biting doubles defeat with Novak Djokovic to top seeds Michael Venus and Nikola Mektic, after they were only a few points from winning.

Only Kyrgios and his team know whether he was being overly dramatic or not after his triple-tiebreaker singles loss to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Tuesday, but he stopped short of guaranteeing he would play at Melbourne Park – and cast doubt on how his right wrist would hold up if he does.

He did not speak to the media after his doubles loss with Djokovic, but was generous with his insights after pushing Mpetshi Perricard to the limit in his first singles match in 18 months after major wrist surgery.

“I was really excited for the Aus Open, but after today – obviously I’m [still] super excited. If I’m able to play, I’m able to play. But the reality kind of set in to me,” Kyrgios said.

“It’s one of the hardest things to do in any sport, is win a grand slam in men’s tennis. I think I almost need a miracle, and I need the stars to align for my wrist to hold up in a grand slam, for sure. Today, if this was a grand slam, we may still be out on court, and I don’t know how I’d pull up the next day or the day after.”

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