Kyrgios Speeds Past Lajovic In Miami Opener

In his first match since Davis Cup nearly two months ago, it was smooth sailing for Nick Kyrgios against Dusan Lajovic, prevailing 6-4, 6-1 in just under 50 minutes at the Miami Open presented by Itau 

Kyrgios’ 2018 got off to an electric start when he claimed his fourth ATP World Tour title and first on home soil in Brisbane. After losing a thriller to Grigor Dimitrov at the Australian Open, the 22-year-old played just two Davis Cup rubbers before being sidelined with a tricky elbow injury that forced him to withdraw from tournaments in February and March. 

But he couldn’t have asked for a better comeback to competition, powering past World No. 108 Lajovic in a dominant display of aggressive yet measured tennis. The Australian World No. 20 hit 21 winners and was helped out by 21 unforced errors off the racquet of his Serbian opponent. He posted exceptional numbers in the service department; surrendering just five points on serve in the entire match and striking seven aces.

“I feel good. I’ve got to take it very slowly,” said Kyrgios after the match. “I know my body is not 100% just yet, but I also know that it’s going to take some time to get back to where I was and playing at the level I was playing at the start of the year. At the moment I’m happy, but I’m still taking it very slowly.”

Next up for Kyrgios is Fabio Fognini, who used his exceptional defensive skills and wealth of experience to surge past wild card and #NextGenATP Spaniard Nicola Kuhn, 6-2, 6-4. The 18-year-old Kuhn won his first ATP World Tour main draw match in the first round of the Miami Open, becoming just the second player born in the 2000’s to win a tour-level match after 17-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime two weeks ago at the BNP Paribas Open.

 Watch Full Match Replays

In other action, top American Jack Sock edged Yuki Bhambri 6-3, 7-6(3) in one hour and 34 minutes. Making his sixth tournament appearance, Sock is coming off a quarter-final run in 2017. He exacted revenge on Bhambri five years after the Indian prevailed at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 

Eighth-seeded Sock served for the match twice – at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set – but Bhambri would not go down without a fight. He forced a tie-break, where Sock would eventually triumph on his second match point.

The Nebraska native will next face Borna Coric for the third time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series (tied 1-1). Coming off his best performance at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, reaching the semi-finals last week in Indian Wells, the Croatian defeated Leonardo Mayer 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

Coric survived a tense affair against Mayer, earning the victory after a marathon two hours and 56 minutes. He overcame 10 aces, while saving eight of nine break points faced.