Cranky knee and commanding Milos Raonic knock Kyrgios out of Oz.
The first round was the last stop for Nick Kyrgios.

A commanding Milos Raonic and a cranky right knee conspired to bounce Kyrgios out of the Australian Open, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4, sending the Aussie crashing out of the opening round of his home Slam for the first time in his career.

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Raonic ripped 30 aces, served 73 percent, permitted just six points on first serve and did not face a break point defeating Kyrgios for the fourth time in seven meetings.

The 16th-seeded Canadian will take on 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka for a spot in the third round. Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka was down 3-6, 3-1 when opening-round opponent Ernests Gulbis retired with injury.

Kyrgios appeared to be contemplating retiring when he called for the trainer before the start of the third set for treatment of his knee issue.

Court-side microphones picked up a frustrated Kyrgios venting his knee "felt like dogs**t" as he talked treatment with the Tour trainer.

"It hurts to walk, it hurts to rock on my serve, I’ve just given up basically,” Kyrgios said. "I’ve taken four tablets and it’s gotten worse. It’s f**king terrible. By this stage, it’s f***ed. It feels like dogs**t, mate. Absolute dogs**t.

The Australian hard-court season can be as punishing as a concrete jungle and lately Kyrgios has been getting beaten up.

A spider bite to his left foot nearly forced him out of Bisbane earlier this month, but Kyrgios played bowing to Jeremy Chardy in the round of 16.

Tonight's loss could send Kyrgios tumbling out of the Top 70, a stunning turn of events for the man his Laver Cup captain, John McEnroe, calls "the most talented player I've seen in 10 years."

Four years ago, Kyrgios became the youngest man to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals since Andrei Cherkasov in 1990, while joining Pat Cash and Brad Drewett as just the third Aussie teen to reach the Melbourne last eight in the Open Era.

Times have changed and a banged-up Kyrgios has sputtered on the Slam stage. For the seventh time in his last eight majors, Kyrgios failed to survive the third round.

The enigmatic Aussie fell to 1-8 in his last nine major matches against Top 20 opponents.

It was Kyrgios' first Grand Slam opening-round exit since he lost to compatriot John Millman, who was ranked No. 232 at the time, in the 2017 US Open.

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

Playing with taping around his right knee, Kyrgios lacked explosiveness at time though he downplayed the significance of his knee injury.

"I've had a sore knee now for a while," Kyrgios said. "Did everything I could. Been warming up. Been super professional before I'm even hitting. Warming up all the time. Just an ongoing thing.

"I don't know why we're talking about it. I literally just said it had nothing to do with my loss. So it's really pointless to keep talking about it."

Still, Kyrgios claims he will try to play doubles on Wednesday alongside good buddy Matt Reid. The Aussie wild cards are scheduled to face No. 13 seeds Ivan Dodig and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in Wednesday's first-rounder on Court No. 7.

"I'm still in the tournament," Kyrgios said. "I got doubles tomorrow. All my focus goes in there. I'm going to come out there, just bluff my way through a doubles match, see how it goes.

"Obviously playing with one of my best mates again, which is pretty special. I know this means a lot to him, being part of the Australian Open, playing doubles. That's all I'm focusing on. It's going to be a lot of fun. I don't know what I'm going to do yet honestly."

Channel Nine and ESPN analyst John McEnroe questioned if Kyrgios' injury issues are caused by inadequate training. 

"Does he not train enough because the body breaks down? Or does the body break down because you don’t train enough," McEnroe said on Channel Nine. "He wouldn’t know because he hasn’t trained hard enough to know. You’ve got to try the other way before you dismiss it."

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

The Greek sensation had the opportunity to both play against and practice with the American legend prior to the Australian Open. By: Chris Oddo

Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas is developing a friendship with—and healthy respect for—Serena Williams. The pair competed against one another at Hopman Cup earlier in the month and later Stefanos had a hitting session with the 23-time major champion.

“It was all arranged by Patrick [coach Mouratoglou],” Tsitsipas said. “I mean, yeah, he invited me for a hit. I said yes. It was a great opportunity to practice with her.”

Tsitsipas said that Williams was in stellar form, and generally more competitive than his typical practice partners, whether they be male or female.

 

 

 

 

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@stefanostsitsipas98 just played with the 2 #goats in two days ! #practicesessionwithserena @rogerfederer @serenawilliams Now what ? 🏀 session with #michaeljordan ? 🥊 session with @miketyson ?

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Jan 3, 2019 at 9:00pm PST

“She was practicing really good,” he said. “I would probably say even better than some of the male players that I've been practicing with.”

Tsitsipas, who became the first Greek ATP player to win a match at the Australian Open on Monday when he defeated Matteo Berrettini, said that he enjoyed hearing Williams’ take on things.

“I enjoyed it,” he said. “She's a very interesting person, very open-minded, I would say. She had lots of topics when we'd sit down to drink water or rehydrate ourselves. We talked about some interesting stuff.”

When asked what it was that made Williams special, he said it was her je ne sais quoi.

“Her attitude, for sure,” Tsitsipas said. “She has a different approach than any I would say female player that I've met. She has this thing, you know, she's really – how can I explain it? She has a lot of confidence in herself. Like really she knows what she's doing on and off the court. She's a lovely person outside the court. Just this attitude that she has of hating to lose. That's what makes her a great champion. That's what I notice on the court.”

He added: “She has something different than the other players.”

The American insists that nothing has changed with her coaching team despite the absence of Kamau Murray.

Sloane Stephens and Kamau Murray are still working together—sort of. After her straight-sets win over Taylor Townsend on Day 1 in Melbourne, the American told media that nothing has changed in her coaching arrangement. Kamau is still with her team, just not physically.

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“Everyone is still around,” Stephens said. “Like I said, Kamau and I needed a break, we are in a great space. I surrounded myself with people here that I have known for a long time that I'm comfortable with. I wanted to be happy and hopefully that would allow me to play better. So, yeah, the coaching situation is exactly the same as it was before. You just don't see Kamau physically here.

Asked if she had a date planned in which Murray would physically re-appear, Stephens replied “no.”

Sly Black is currently assuming head coaching duties.

Stephens is set to face Timea Babos in second-round action. She snapped a four-match losing streak at the Happy Slam with her victory on Day 1. Stephens famously reached the semifinals in 2013 at Melbourne when the then 19-year-old achieved a stunning three-set victory over Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

“It's been a tough couple of years here, but I do love this tournament,” Stephens said. “It's always tough the first slam of the year kind of getting going. I had a good result here once before, so I think I'm going to try to do it again.”