Australian Nick Kyrgios came from behind to defeat Mackenzie McDonald 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, earning his first win since October 2022.

Kyrgios, who retired from his first-round match at Indian Wells earlier this month due to pain in his surgically repaired right wrist, soaked up the moment, looking skyward and taking a deep breath after sealing the win.

"It has been a long journey, even to get to the start line of matches and be scared to even be able to finish them," he told Tennis TV.

"So, to come in and get a win, and feel like I belong again, it's pretty special."

Kyrgios, who had lost all three matches he played this year, got off to a slow start on a hot and humid day in South Florida, but after dropping the first set, he began to settle in, finding his rhythm on serve to level the contest.

In the decider, he hit a well-disguised drop shot to set up a break point, which he converted when his American opponent double-faulted, handing Kyrgios a 4-3 lead.

From there, he rode his best shot, his booming serve, to the finish line.

Next up for 29-year-old Kyrgios is Russian Karen Khachanov, who stunned the Australian in a hard-fought quarterfinal at the 2022 US Open.

Soon after that bitter disappointment, Kyrgios took a lengthy break to tend to a series of knee, foot and wrist problems that threatened to permanently derail his career, before returning to the tour this year.

Frenchman Gael Monfils, Belgian David Goffin, and Russian-born Kazakh Alexander Bublik were among the players who also advanced out of the first round with wins on Wednesday.

Raducanu rolls past Ishii

On the women's side, former US Open champion Emma Raducanu barely broke a sweat as she brushed aside Japanese wildcard Sayaka Ishii 6-2 6-1 to reach the second round.

Raducanu, who was ousted in the first round at Indian Wells, regained her footing against Ishii, as she won 77 percent of her first-serve points, fired down six aces and converted five of her six break point chances in the 65-minute match.

Up next for the Briton will be American world No 10 Emma Navarro, who won a WTA 500 event in Mexico in early March for her second career title, before losing in the third round at Indian Wells.

"It's going to be an extremely challenging match," Raducanu said during her on-court interview. "She's probably in better form, so I can go out and express myself and try and compete for every point."

In other women's action, Belinda Bencic, fresh off a run to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, overcame a 5-3 third-set deficit to beat Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska on Grandstand.

The Swiss former world No 4 gave birth to her daughter Bella in April of last year and won her first WTA title as a mother when she triumphed at the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi last month.

Twice Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka strolled into the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ukrainian wildcard Anhelina Kalinina in the evening session at Hard Rock Stadium.

The veteran player from Belarus has won the tournament three times and said her game was coming together.

"I feel like this was my best match of the season so far," she said on-court, where she was joined by her son Leo.

"I felt like I was in command and playing my game."

Reuters