Nick Kyrgios has made a triumphant return to professional tennis with an electrifying first-round doubles victory with Novak Djokovic at the Brisbane International.
The one-time Wimbledon final foes and first-time pairing lit up Pat Rafter Arena on Monday night with a dazzling 6-4 6-7 10-8 win over Austrian Alexander Erler and German Andreas Mies.
Kyrgios was playing his first tour match since June 2023 and making only his second competitive outing in almost two-and-a-half years following career-saving wrist and knee surgeries.
But in one 107-minute cameo the former world No.13 showed he'd lost neither his awesome serving firepower or outrageous shot-making talent as he and Djokovic delivered a proverbial tennis clinic for fans.
With Kyrgios dropping just four points in his six service games, the superstar wildcards proved nigh on impossible to break and captured the opening set in spectacular fashion.
Djokovic took the backhand side and showed why with one exquisite shot threaded between the net post and the umpire's chair.
He followed with an unplayable backhand return before bringing up set point with a sumptuous topspin lob.
Not to be outdone, Kyrgios the showman whipped a curling forehand past Mies to seal the set in the most stylish fashion.
Kyrgios had promised to add some fun to Djokovic's usually methodical game and, true to his word, had the super Serb dancing in delight after conjuring a signature "tweener" winner late in the second set.
For all their dominance, though, the odd couple couldn't nab a break in the second set and then had to survive a tiebreaker in the third to secure victory.
"That was awesome," Djokovic said.
"Packed house, amazing. Great to be back.
"I want to thank Nick for playing. He said the other day that it should be a pleasure to play with him. It is a pleasure and I'm glad to share the court with him on his comeback.
"I haven't played that many doubles matches in my life, to be honest, particularly in the last five years, so whatever Nick was saying, I was following actually.
"So Nick, it's great to have you back on court in a competitive environment."
Kyrgios brushed off the praise and insisted he hadn't played captain over Djokovic at all.
"I was actually surprised that he doubted himself a little bit in some moments," he said.
"I was like, 'Brother, you're the greatest of all time; like, go for it'."
The enigmatic Kyrgios said he savoured every minute on court with the so-called tennis GOAT.
"I was just looking around at all the fans, like this beautiful stadium," he said.
"My comeback, you know, this injury's been brutal for me, so I wasn't taking any of this for granted.
"I don't know how many Aussie summers I've got left, so I was just looking around and loving the energy and was just so happy to be back out here.
"We promised that we were going to do this one more time before either he goes or I go, so I'm glad we're still alive."
Kyrgios's impressive performance bodes well for his grand slam singles comeback at next month's Australian Open.
The 29-year-old will continue preparing for Melbourne Park in singles and doubles in Brisbane.
He faces big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his eagerly-anticipated singles return on Tuesday before Kyrgios and Djokovic do it all again on Wednesday against doubles top seeds Michael Venus and Nikola Mektic.
