MIAMI - Australian Nick Kyrgios won his first match since 2022 as he fought back from a set down to beat American Mackenzie McDonald 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Miami Open on Wednesday.
Kyrgios's career has been blighted by injuries in the last two years and he had to retire from his first-round match at Indian Wells earlier this month.
The flamboyant 29-year-old had suffered pain in his surgically reconstructed right wrist - a procedure that left him on the sidelines for 18 months.
"It has been a long journey, even to just get to the start line of matches and be scared to just finish them," Kyrgios said.
"To come off and get a win and feel like I belong again was special," added after the one-hour, 43-minute victory.
Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist, has been plagued by injuries in his career but it was the wrist which caused him the most serious issues and he said he was deeply pessimistic about his chances of a comeback.
"I never thought I would play tennis again to be brutally honest with you. I was having conversations with my camp and my team, and I said 'I don't know how long I can keep doing this for'," he said.
"This (win) puts some petrol in the tank but I need to be realistic and see how my wrist feels tomorrow because it is a grind out here," he added.