Kyrgios blames ‘clicking shoulder’ for exit

Nick Kyrgios fears he could face several weeks out after struggling with what he said was a “clicking” shoulder in a limp first-round exit at the Zhuhai Championships yesterday. The 24-year-old Australian, who has been accused of tanking matches in the past, served underarm on one occasion and led the veteran Italian Andreas Seppi 4-1 in the first set. But the unpredictable firebrand went down 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 in southern China after his game spectacularly fell apart.

Kyrgios, who has had numerous run-ins with tennis authorities down the years, said that he was “struggling a lot” -- but he still played doubles soon after. “I was battling with a bit of a shoulder/collar bone injury,” said the 27th-ranked Kyrgios, a colourful but controversial figure. “At this rate I’m not thinking about playing until my shoulder’s -- or I don’t even know what it is -- but until my front of my shoulder feels better and I can serve,” he added, saying his right shoulder had been “clicking”.

“I mean the reason I lost today was because I couldn’t serve. “If I could serve, it would have been a pretty routine win for me, to be honest.” Asked if he could sit out the next few weeks or even the rest of the season, Kyrgios replied: “For sure, I mean at this rate I wouldn’t be surprised. “I wasn’t able to even serve at a reasonable pace. “I’m probably not going to bother playing until I can get it right again,” he added.

Kyrgios elicited a few giggles from a sparse crowd in Zhuhai with an underarm serve in the first set. Coasting 3-1 and 40-0 up, Kyrgios served weakly into the net, before surging into a 4-1 lead. But the Australian faded alarmingly from there and his previously dominant serve collapsed.