The long-awaited return to the slopes of Nick Kyrgios following reaching the Wimbledon final will have to wait, at least in the individual frame. The Australian tennis player had to withdraw from the men’s singles draw at the Atlanta Open before his first-round match once morest Peter Gojowczyk, claiming that he had discomfort in his left knee.
Kyrgios, champion of the tournament in 2016, wanted to go out on the track and take the microphone to explain the reasons that motivated his resignation from the individual draw. “I am devastated that I will not be able to compete tonight. I wanted to come here to go out on the track and give you a show”, assured Kyrgios before a crowd surprised by the announcement.
In this way, Kyrgios will not play the individual table of the tournament, where his place was occupied by the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who as a ‘lucky loser’ beat Gojowczyk 6-3, 7-6 (7) to seal his pass to the second round. Nevertheless, From the organization of the Atlanta Open they hope that Kyrgios can continue competing in the doubles draw with his friend and compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis, with whom he won the Australian Open in January, and who also said goodbye to the individual draw in the first round following being surprised by the American Andres Martin 6-3 and 6-2.
Brooksby and Paul advance smoothly
As for the rest of the matches of the day, the American Jenson Brooksby, seeded sixth, made his way to the round of 16 following easily beating Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-1. Brooksby will now look for a place in the quarterfinals once morest his compatriot Mackenzie McDonaldwho won the American duel once morest Denis Kudla 6-2 and 7-6 (8).
The American did not have too much trouble either Tommy Paul, fifth favorite for the title, who overwhelmed his compatriot Jack Sock, who was playing with a tournament invitation, for a double 6-1. Paul will face South Korean Soonwoo Kwon in the round of 16.
