Nick Kyrgios has voiced his support for good friend Andy Murray, who revealed the extent of his hip injury that has kept him out of action for nearly six months now.
Kyrgios, who overcame a knee problem to battle past fellow Aussie Matthew Ebden 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-2 and reach the quarter-finals at the Brisbane International on Wednesday, has struggled with a hip issue himself last year and says he pays particular attention to it in the gym to keep it under control.
“It’s pretty sad,” he said of Murray’s continued injury woes.
“I think he’s definitely a fan favourite. He brings a lot of the people to all these tournaments. And he’s a good friend of mine. And it’s just sad seeing him, you know, a guy like that getting injured. Because you saw him at Wimbledon struggling and, obviously, been struggling ever since. And it sucks, you know, seeing him not being able to get it right. He’s been rehabbing now for almost five months.
“And it’s never good seeing a guy like that get injured, especially because, you know, he’s just good for the sport. He’s a good guy as well.
“So I don’t know what he’s going to do. I don’t know. I’m not an expert, but hopefully he can get better.”
Like many players, including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Caroline Garcia and Barbora Strycova, Kyrgios commented with words of support on the emotional Instagram post Murray sent out discussing his hip injury.
“He tends to rip me a little bit on Instagram. I was going to maybe take a low blow at the picture, but, nah, I thought it was a good time to maybe show some sympathy,” said Kyrgios.
“But, yeah, it was emotional. I read the whole thing. And obviously a lot of players commented as well because they all know that he’s a great guy. And, you know, he’s a guy that’s always wondering how you are and how you’re going. And I’m sure a lot of people want to see him back at the top of the game.”
Kyrgios noted that a player like Murray, whose movement is one of his greatest assets, can be significantly hampered because of a hip issue and the 22-year-old said when it came to his own injury, he is doing everything possible to avoid surgery.
“I don’t think anyone ever really wants to get cut open. That’s the absolute last resort. You don’t really know the success rate of anything like that. So it’s tough. It’s very scary,” added Kyrgios.
On Wednesday on Pat Rafter Arena, Kyrgios finished his tough three-setter with his left leg heavily strapped.
” I had been feeling pretty good coming into the tournament. I’ve been doing a lot of good work,” said the world No. 21, who next faces Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov.
“And then a couple days out I was playing some points with Lleyton (Hewitt) and then I kind of felt my knee a bit and been kind of nursing it the last day or two but didn’t really know what it was.
“And had a bit of fluid in there a couple days leading up to the singles. So didn’t really know what it was, but it wasn’t really — it doesn’t really hurt me when I move. Just when I’m kind of straightening my leg.
“So I knew that, you know, it was going to be a tough battle today. First match of the year. Obviously a bit rusty, but I’m just happy to get through it. But I’m sure it will be fine.”
