Patrick Mouratoglou makes lavish Nick Kyrgios claim after sparkling New York comeback

Nick Kyrgios is still playing ‘top 20 level tennis’, but that does not mean he is ready to make a return to the top of the game, according to respected coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

Kyrgios made his return to competitive action in front of tennis fans at last week’s highly successful UTS New York event, as he turned on the style to beat world No 8 Casper Ruud in the dynamic brand of tennis devised by Mouratoglou and his team at his impressive Academy in Nice, France.

While a win in an exhibition match may not provide conclusive proof that a player who has played just one match since the start of 2023 is ready to make an impact at the top of the game, Mouratoglou told Tennis365 that the Australian maverick still has the ability to beat the best players in the world if his wrist injury allows him to perform at the highest level.

“He looked incredible. Everyone was shocked by the quality of his tennis,” Mouratoglou told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview.

“For someone who didn’t compete for so long to come out and play that was really, really impressive. Everyone was so excited to see him play, it was so spectacular.

“He had only one serve in UTS and still I would say he was playing top 20 level tennis, for sure.

“Tennis-wise, he can come back and at the moment his wrist seems to be okay, but he needs to get used to playing back-to-back matches.

“Tennis-wise, there is no problem with him. He can play at the highest level, but it’s all about the injury.”

Kyrgios admitted he ‘got emotional’ as he made his return to action at UTS New York, with the level of tennis he offered up teasing fans about what he might still be able to offer in his career.

“I wasn’t expecting to play this well at all,” said Kyrgios in response to the 17-8, 21-9, 15-11 victory over Ruud. “Coming out here and still having that level, it’s amazing. What a way to come back.

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“Obviously pretty emotional, it’s been a brutal 11 months. I didn’t know if I was going to play tennis again with the state of my wrist. It was literally conversations of never playing again.

“I’ve been putting in some serious work, every single day back home

“Casper’s probably one of the best players in the world, so one of the best ways to test my wrist. Let’s see if we can string a couple of matches together.”

Mouratoglou, who has worked with some of the world’s top players including Serena Williams and Holger Rune, admits he would relish the chance to coach Kyrgios if he made a full-time return to tennis.

Yet he admits convincing the outspoken star to leave his beloved Australia may be a challenge.

“For so long, he has decided not to have a coach, but he would be exciting to coach, for sure,” added Mouratoglous.

“With the potential he has and the personality he has, it would be interesting to work with him. He is a very complex personality, but also very smart and it would be cool to work with a guy with some much potential.

“The problem is the guy who is going to going to take Nick out of Australia has not been born yet, so I don’t think he will be moving to my Academy in Nice any time soon!”

UTS Grand Final is coming to London’s Cooper Box between December 6-8, with some big names set to take part and tickets selling out fast.