'Heartbreaking': Nick Kyrgios buries feud with rival after shock moment

Aussie maverick Nick Kyrgios was left frustrated as he was in visible pain and was forced to withdraw from his match against rival Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Kyrgios started on fire and broke the young Canadian in the first set, before calling for a trainer to deal with an 'acute' abdominal injury.

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While he was able to clinch the first set, it was all downhill from that moment on.

Unfortunately, for the crowd favourite, the injury reduced his monster serve to half-pace against the brilliant young Canadian.

Kyrgios admitted he was 'devastated', which was displayed across his face as he say head in hands on his chair.

"I'm enjoying myself. Going from the bad boy of tennis, all this stuff, to now one of the crowd favourites," he said.

"I knew they wanted me to keep playing. I tried to give everything I absolutely could.

"But I knew the more I served, the worse it was getting. It was heartbreaking for me.

"I told the crowd it was the end of the road. It was a journey.

"I honestly thought the way I was playing I could have done some pretty cool things this week. It was tough to leave that crowd."

Nick Kyrgios buries feud with rival

Alluding to it himself, Kyrgios became a must-see athlete at Wimbledon over the last week.

Having not played an overseas Grand Slam since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kyrgios' light-heated and spirited game once again won over fans.

He even appeared to put past issues aside with Auger-Aliassime as they embraced on court.

Kyrgios once said he couldn't find himself being 'friends' with Auger-Aliassime outside of the court.

But, appearing to put things in the past, Kyrgios also took to social media after to wish him the best of luck for the remainder of the tournament after some kind words from the Canadian.

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He admitted it also didn't look possible to continue his mixed doubles partnership with Venus Williams either, reckoning it would "heartbreaking" to have to tell the 41-year-old legend.

"She obviously won't be too happy about it too. She doesn't know how many Wimbledons maybe she's going to play again," he said.

The 26-year-old - in his first tournament after a five-month competitive absence - had said beforehand he would be competing in pain.

He began as only Kyrgios can, admitting that he'd forgotten to bring his tennis shoes to the court - which forced organisers to collect them from the bubble for him.

"For one day, I thought I was being professional, you know...," Kyrgios laughed.

But the fans did show their appreciation for the Aussie entertainer as he left with a standing ovation.

with AAP

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