'My last Wimbledon': Kyrgios bows out with typically mixed doubles outing

Australian Nick Kyrgios loses in the first round of the men's doubles in what is "pretty confidently my last Wimbledon". Playing alongside Alexander Bublik in a wildcard pairing, Kyrgios played some impressive shots and cursed out the umpire while losing in straight sets. What's next? There are 10 other Australians still alive in the men's and women's doubles draws. Nick Kyrgios has bid an emotional goodbye to his Wimbledon career with a first-round doubles loss as part of a combustible pairing with Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik. Kyrgios and Bublik were beaten 6-3, 6-4 by sixth-seeded Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic in the first round on Court 17. The 31-year-old Australian, who has had wrist, knee and legal troubles since losing the 2022 singles final to Novak Djokovic, said toward the end of the match he was "looking around and taking everything in". "I would probably say pretty confidently my last Wimbledon," Kyrgios said. "It would be hard to see myself coming back here again and competing. "That [2022] final was always going to be one of the better memories of my tennis career, but I just can't see myself getting back to anywhere near that level." The Australian was typically impertinent in an exchange with umpire Manuel Absolu while down a set and a break. Kyrgios said in response to an unheard comment from the French official: "Honestly, at this point you can fine me, I honestly don't even care. "Honestly, you can fine me, I don't give a s***. All these rules are so dumb anyway." After Mate Pavić played a sensational reflex volley to win the sixth game of the second set, Kyrgios immediately responded with a congratulatory: "No, f*** off, bro." He quickly turned to the umpire to say, in a more jovial interaction: "You can't give me a code [violation] for that. That [shot is] outrageous." Kyrgios and Bublik were given a wildcard invitation to the doubles draw by the All England Club. "The wildcards are a very heavy, unreliant [sic] thing to plan schedules on. So I'm obviously super grateful for that opportunity," Kyrgios said. "This has always been a venue and a place where I've played my best tennis. My career kicked off here, and my life changed forever after that." Kyrgios did not officially call it the end of his entire career or discuss whether he would like to say goodbye at the Australian Open. "I've just got so many thoughts right now," Kyrgios said. "You go from making finals of grand slams to struggling to play multiple singles matches." Still, Kyrgios enjoyed playing doubles one last time at the grass-court major. "Going out with someone like Bublik who keeps it pretty lighthearted, it's a lot of fun," he said. "But at the same time, a lot of things were running through my head the last couple of games." The ABC of SPORT Sports content to make you think... or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Saturday.