Kyrgios' last roll of the dice has come with a brutal journey

(Getty/Patrick Smith)

Since he burst onto the professional scene in 2013, Nick Kyrgios' career has been far from smooth sailing.

But that's also the reason why he has forged a successful career (however you deem to define successful), whether it be a former world No.13, Wimbledon finalist, total career prize money or his impressive record against the 'big four'. His personality has driven him to compete with the sport's elite.

If you were to describe the Canberrean's career in a couple of words, 'wasted talent' and 'highly inconsistent' spring to mind, which is hard to argue against.

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But the more you roll a six-sided die, eventually, it will land on that magic six, and Kyrgios all of a sudden found himself in the best form of his life in 2022.

Back-to-back semi-finals on grass in Stuttgart and Halle paved the way for a maiden Slam final at Wimbledon, Kyrgios' best surface, where he eventually lost in four sets to Novak Djokovic despite finding himself a set to the good.

The Aussie maverick then backed up that positive fortnight by taking home the ATP 500 Washington title and defeating top seed Daniil Medvedev at the Canadian Masters, creating a solid platform to make another deep run at a major.

And so he did at the U.S. Open. Again, Kyrgios got the better of Medvedev, who was the world No.1 at that point, which formed a unique buzz within Australia that maybe, just maybe, he could shrug off the 'wasted talent' tag with a priceless Grand Slam trophy.

It was the quarter-final at Flushing Meadows against Karen Khachanov, which stripped away any possibility of attaining that elusive piece of silverware. After surrendering the opening set, Kyrgios was treated for a sore knee, which ultimately affected him physically in a five-set loss that lasted three hours and 39 minutes.

"I'm just devastated, obviously," the 23rd seed told reporters post-match. "I feel like I've just failed at this event right now. That's what it feels like."

"You either win or lose. People don't really care if you got better on the day or you lost [6-4] in the fifth, or played one of the best matches of the tournament. You lost.

"That's all people remember at a Grand Slam, whether you win or you lose."

The sad part, nearly four years on, is that his body hasn't allowed him to change people's memories of losing at Grand Slams.

And, given a combination of factors, including his fragile body, the pace at which men's tennis has evolved, and the sheer dominance of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, that Wimbledon final will 99 per cent likely be the best result of his singles career.

Yet that isn't stopping the 31-year-old from re-entering the ATP scene, having announced his comeback for the grass court season, defeating world No.36 Corentin Moutet in his first singles match since January's Brisbane International.

Albeit yes, Moutet is a player who loves to entertain more than he should, it was an impressively mature performance from Kyrgios as he didn't concede a break point while hitting his stride in all facets.

Although he has returned, no one other than him and the closest people in his circle will ever understand just how much pain he has endured to even get to the point where he can be competitive again.

That knee soreness against Khachanov proved far worse, turning into major arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus and remove a paralabral cyst in January 2023.

It kept him out of the game until June of that same year.

The following year, he was expected to appear at Roland Garros, but an armed robbery at his home caused a foot injury—another setback.

Then came a worse injury. This time, a tennis player's worst nightmare: a wrist injury—another setback.

Unable to open jars and open doors, another surgery was deemed necessary.

"This has been a really challenging time - the hardest of my career," Kyrgios told the Canberra Times.

"People aren't expecting me to come back, especially after an injury like this, so I would love to do that and play again."

His surgeon, Dr Michael Sandow, said Kyrgios "was quite disabled" when he met him.

The matter was so serious that he had to skip the entire 2024 season, as his wrist required innovative surgery to reduce pain and avoid permanent arthritis. A full wrist reconstruction was the only option if he were to properly return.

Since that US Open ordeal four years ago, the Aussie has played 10 singles matches. Sixteen matches prior, he was a Wimbledon finalist.

Now, it's one last roll of the dice for Kyrgios. Given that his body can never catch a break, just like his good mate Thanasi Kokkinakis, the refusal to hang up the racquet has taken quite some guts.

In his most recent match, Kyrgios' straight-sets defeat to compatriot Adam Walton in Mallorca confirmed the obvious: his comeback isn't about chasing major honours, it's about enjoying the game, entertaining, and proving to everyone that mentally, he is strong enough to overcome adversity, which, at times, cost him on the court.

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