Dressed in a black shirt, shorts and socks, which contrasted with his white hat and shoes, Kyrgios gave a wave as he stepped out in Stuttgart, where he was a semi-finalist last year.But his ring rust was evident, most notably on set point when he opted for a drop shot that was easily run down by Yu, who drilled a backhand winner.
What is concerning is his movement. When the first serve did not go in, and when Kyrgios was engaged in rallies, he looked restricted. He also grabbed for the knee at times. As a younger man, when his tag on a social media handle was NK Rising, Kyrgios proved himself capable of finding peak form quickly.
Kyrgios is now 28. To put that into context, aside from the obvious outlier in every facet of tennis in Djokovic, the rest of the current top 10 are 27 or younger.