Kyrgios Falters In Comeback At Stuttgart; Musetti, Tiafoe Wednesday

Nick Kyrgios made his return to tennis following knee surgery in January, but the Australian’s 2023 debut was not a successful one as Yibing Wu trounced the Wimbledon finalist 7-5, 6-3 in the first round at Stuttgart.

Kyrgios cracked 15 aces and had power on his shots, but otherwise couldn’t move well due to the knee, and was hardly a factor off the ground. The

“Be patient with me my fans please…. It’s a process to get back to where I was. I know it’s hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was,” Kyrgios posted on twitter following the loss.

Wu was making his grass debut at the tour level.

“The last time I played on grass was juniors back in 2017, so six years,” said Wu. “I was really happy to play Nick in the first round. He’s one of the best players on grass and he served well.”

Denis Shapovalov continued his slump falling to Marton Fucsovics 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. No. 5 seed Tommy Paul beat (27y,66r) Benjamin Bonzi in straights 6-3, 6-4.

It was a mixed day for home Germans. Jan-Lennard Struff got by China’s Zhizhen Zhang 6-1, 6-4 but Daniel Altmaier, who upset Jannik Sinner at the French Open, was ousted by Christopher O’ Connell and Oscar Otte lost to Gregoire Barrere.

Tomorrow, second round play opens with No. 3 Frances Tiafoe facing Jiri Lehecka in a first-time tour-level contest. No. 4 Hubert Hurkacz will battle Yosuke Watanuki, Barrere collides with Lorenzo Musetti and also Lorenzo Sonego faces O’Connell.

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