‘Smart’ Kyrgios move could SAVE his season after returning home to rehab knee injury

Nick Kyrgios believes his “heartbreaking” call to pull out of the Japan Open could also have been a smart one, providing him with a soothing launch pad for a vigorous European end to his breakthrough season.

The Australian Wimbledon finalist sacrificed a tear at two titles in Tokyo when ominous stitches to his knee persuaded him to pull out just minutes before taking on American Taylor Fritz in Friday’s quarter-finals.

It also meant giving up his doubles semi-final along with his Australian compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis, ending what had been a successful week of a second singles title up for grabs.

Kyrgios thanks the crowd as he leaves the field to go home and fix his injured knee

Instead, the 27-year-old had to fly home to Australia to rest his vulnerable left knee, which often caused him problems.

Still, he remains convinced that the difficult decision could work in his favor as he plots a spectacular conclusion to his 2022 campaign on European hard courts.

“Of course very disappointing, it’s one of my favorite tournaments, I’ve had great memories here,” said Kyrgios, who had been excited the day before about what a great week he had enjoyed with his team in the Japanese capital.

“But taking it off is the smart option for my body. I still have a few events to go in the year and I want to do it right, so I have to be smart.”

Kyrgios plans to play the ATP 500 Basel Open at the end of October and also has his sights set on one of the season’s big prizes next week at the Paris Masters in Bercy.

The Canberra maverick has always played well in a campaign where he started to live up to expectations and apparently wasn’t distracted by out-of-court controversies.

Topped off by his run to the Wimbledon final and a tournament win in Washington, he’s adamant there won’t be an anticlimax to his season.

“I expect big things from myself for the rest of the year. I don’t want to roll out and wait for the Australian Open,” he explained in Tokyo earlier this week. “I want to stay on the road.”

Kyrgios was in superb form before the injury hit and was on his way to another title

The Aussie also had to pull out of doubles with good mate Thanasi Kokkinakis

His season could therefore still end as it began, with a major triumph in the doubles alongside Kokkinakis.

The ‘Special Ks’ won the Australian Open together in January and could win the trophy of the end-of-season ATP final in November if all goes well.

And Kyrgios, not one of life’s greatest trainers, was quick to downplay the idea that his withdrawal was a sign of continued physical frailty.

‘I know that in this case (taking it off) is more overload than not being fit enough. I think it’s almost too excited to get on the field and maybe training a little too much.

“It’s positive but heartbreaking at the same time.”

Still, his troublesome knee will likely remain a problem. “It’s something I’ve dealt with my entire career and sometimes it wakes up pretty average.

“And when I was warming up with Thanasi, it just didn’t feel ideal.”