Nick Kyrgios gets first win in 896 days at Miami Masters

The Australian overcame a slow start to beat Mackenzie McDonald in three sets

Tennis Majors / Psnewz

Bren Gray

March 19, 2025

Miami Open presented by Itau •First round • completed

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M. McDonaldvsN. Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios edged out American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Miami Masters at the Hard Rock Stadium on Wednesday.

The victory was Kyrgios’ first on the ATP Tour since the second round of the Tokyo Open in October 2022, 896 days ago. Since then, the Australian has had a challenging layoff, battling wrist, leg and abdominal injuries. He made his return to professional tennis at UTS New York in August 2024, defeating Casper Ruud in impressive style before withdrawing due to injury.

His comeback on the ATP Tour occurred earlier this year, with Kyrgios losing first round at the Brisbane International, Australian Open and Indian Wells Open.

It seemed as though things were heading towards an early exit in Miami as well, with the 29-year-old spraying 15 unforced errors in the opening set alone to fall behind quickly.

However, he found his range in the second and third sets, dramatically reducing his error rate and hitting his spots on the first serve. Free points on serve ended up being the difference, plus the Aussie’s improved pressure on return.

Kyrgios encouraged by first win

“I feel like I’ve been returning better every game, being back on court with these world-class players,” Kyrgios said.

“He’s such a good player, he’s so tricky. It caught me off guard, I walked on the court and I wasn’t used to that ball speed. It’s been a long road, even to get to the start line. To come off and get a win, to feel like I belong again, it’s pretty special.

“I thought I’d never play tennis again to be brutally honest with you. It was going that way. I’ve had conversations with my team, you know, guys who are leaving their families behind to try and get me on the court, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how long I can keep doing this for’.

“But obviously this puts a bit more petrol in the tank. I need to be realistic, I’ll see how my wrist pulls up tomorrow because it is a grind out here.”

After the match, Kyrgios admitted in an interview with the Tennis Channel that he was close to tears following the victory.

“It was pretty heavy for me, personally,” he said.

“I’m not going to lie, I was pretty close to crying on court. I just think about the last two years, and it’s been pretty brutal to be honest. I was in a cast for 12 weeks, couldn’t move my wrist, and the surgeons were saying I’d never play again.

“I was listening to a lot of the outside noise, you know, about whether I’d be able to play at this level, and win. Playing is one thing, but winning matches and executing is another thing. So yeah, I can’t believe it.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet—because I used to actually win a fair bit! So at the same time it feels normal. I don’t think it’s really sunk in that I was in a place where I couldn’t hit a fluffy tennis ball to now beating a solid player.

“It’s pretty surreal, but I know the tournament is not over and I haven’t won the tournament or anything.”

Nick Kyrgios will face No 22 seed Karen Khachanov next.