"Alexander Zverev ticks all the boxes": Nick Kyrgios draws inspiration from German player amid wrist injury

Nick Kyrgios has said that he is drawing inspiration from Alexander Zverev's injury comeback after his own return was delayed due to injury.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist was scheduled to launch his comeback at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Seoul, South Korea, in December. However, as injuries persisted, he was forced to withdraw and is now aiming to be ready to return in 2024.

Kyrgios has been absent from the ATP Tour for the majority of the last year. He withdrew from the 2023 Australian Open due to a knee injury and proceeded to miss the French Open. After a brief return at the Stuttgart Open where he lost in the first round, the 28-year-old withdrew from Wimbledon and the US Open, making it obvious that he would not be returning for the rest of the season.

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Kyrgios hopes for Zverev-like return

The Australian player is currently working as a commentator for the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where World No. 7 Zverev is competing along with the other Top 8 players of the season such as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Kyrgios made his debut in the match between Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, which the latter won in straight sets.

Nevertheless, Kyrgios said he hoped to draw inspiration from the German player, who himself came back from injury this season. He suffered a serious ankle injury while playing against Rafael Nadal in the semi-final of the 2022 French Open. The former World No. 2 subsequently underwent surgery which shut down the rest of his season.

However, he came back in 2023 and returned to the Top 10 in the ATP Ranking, winning titles in Hamburg and Chengdu. "With Zverev, he's an incredibly hard worker. That's his reputation. He ticks all the boxes and, if someone like that can come back from an injury like that, I think that's what I have to draw inspiration from for sure," Kyrgios said.

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Kyrgios is still scheduled to compete at the 2024 Australian Open in January and is currently in a race against time to be fit enough for the Grand Slam, although he has admitted that there is "still a lot of work to do."