Kyrgios Cruises On In Tokyo

A lover of Japanese food, Nick Kyrgios cleansed his palate of a disappointing US Open quarter-final loss with a stellar start at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

The Aussie saved a break point in his opening service game, then ran away with a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Chun-Hsin Tseng in Tokyo’s Ariake Colosseum. After navigating that early hold, Kyrgios dropped only four further service points, finishing with an 86 per cent win rate (25/29) behind his first delivery.

“I played really solid,” the fifth seed assessed. “I came out a bit slow, but I don’t play many matches so it’s hard to just get straight back into that competitive flow. But as soon as I held the first game I kind of found my form again and played really well.”

Kyrgios said he struggled to breathe early in the match as he adjusted to the humidity and different air compared to Sydney. But the conditions also speed up the court, which suits his big-hitting game.

“The court is obviously playing faster compared to normal hard court events. I’m not complaining about that, to be honest,” he said. “I think big servers and guys who like to take the ball early and have flat backhands, I think it suits our game style.

“It’s fun tennis to watch, people playing aggressive and coming to the net and serving big. I think that’s the type of tennis that fans like to see sometimes. The court’s probably faster than average, but I like it.”

Kyrgios, who holds a 36-10 record on the season, will next play Pole Kamil Majchrzak. Earlier this season, the World No. 20 reached the final at Wimbledon before lifting the trophy in Washington.

Did You Know?
In addition to his 2016 Tokyo title at the ATP Tour level, Kyrgios also won junior events in Japan in both Osaka (2012) and Nagoya (2011).