Nick Kyrgios was one of four Australians to lose their first round matches in Washington.
Camera IconNick Kyrgios was one of four Australians to lose their first round matches in Washington. Credit: AP

Defending champ Kyrgios quickly out in DC

Howard FendrichAAP

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Nick Kyrgios' surname is on a blue awning above the lower bowl of the Citi Open's main stadium to commemorate his 2019 title at the hard-court tournament in Washington.

On Tuesday night, as the reigning champion at an event cancelled last year because of the pandemic, the 2019 champion Kyrgios bowed out after two flat sets over 77 minutes.

Kyrgios offered up the occasional crowd-pleasing shot - an early underhand serve, for example - but otherwise did not look anything like the guy who was so good and so engaged at the US Open tune-up two years ago, losing 6-4 6-4 to Mackenzie McDonald in the first round.

"I don't know what it is. I don't know what to say. I don't know how to feel. I just don't feel as if I'm in the moment as I used to be, I guess," Kyrgios said.

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"I feel like I actually enjoyed my tennis more when it was so up and down. Like you see me today - like, I'm losing and I'm barely getting angry.

"I actually miss the days when I was losing and I was carrying on and I was getting fined and I was throwing my rackets."

That way of behaving, Kyrgios said, meant he cared a lot about the outcome.

And now?

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"Now I lose and I'm actually happy for the other guy," he said.

"Back then, I couldn't stand the other guy."

Kyrgios was both entertaining - chatting with fans between points to ask where he should direct his booming serves - and effective when he won the title in the US capital in 2019, beating a couple of guys who have reached grand slam finals this year, Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals and Daniil Medvedev in the final.

There wasn't much of the customary Kyrgios animation at all on Tuesday, even under the lights and with a mostly full arena in which spectators offered plenty of shouts of "Come on, Nick!"

Kyrgios wasted little time before points, often tossing the ball in the air with 19 or 20 seconds still on the 25-second serve clock, or during them, going for quick-strike shots early in exchanges and often missing the mark.

When it ended, he plopped himself down on his sideline seat and shook his head.

The former world No.13 is now ranked 77th after playing just five tournaments in 2021, for a 7-5 win-loss record.

"Ultimately, like, I know I can't be too hard on myself. I haven't played a lot of matches or any of that type of stuff. ... I played pretty average. My body feels pretty average," the 26-year-old Kyrgios said.

The Kyrgios upset added to a poor day for Australia in Washington, with Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson and James Duckworth also exiting.

Wildcard entry Brandon Nakashima, on his 20th birthday, celebrated a 6-3 6-3 win over this year's Singapore titlist Popyrin.

Thompson coughed up a one-set lead to go down to Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer 3-6 7-6 6-3 while Duckworth fell to Tennys Sandgren 6-3 2-6 6-2.

Australia's hopes now lie with Alex de Minaur and John Millman, who have byes into the second round as seeded players.