Nick Kyrgios wasted no time in disposing of his first-round opponent at this year’s Australian Open, continuing his blistering early 2018 form with a straight-sets win over veteran Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 27 minutes.
As in Brisbane during the buildup to this year’s first major, the 17th seed was notably composed, calm and collected as he reeled off 16 aces and punished short service returns with thumping – yet not overly-risky – winners.
Only once did the Australian No1 get even close to losing his cool, attracting a court violation for unsportsmanlike behaviour in the first set after asking a spectator in the packed Hisense Arena to be quiet as he was mid-service. The home crowd was clearly in forgiving mood, laughing with, rather than at, their re-embraced hero.
“I went out there pretty nervous,” said Kyrgios post-match. “I’m hitting the ball well, but to go out there in front of the home crowd again... you want to do well in front of your home crowd. Just to make them proud.”
Perhaps most promisingly, the world No21 moved freely throughout, and there was no sign of the knee tape he usually sports.
“He [my physio] has been helping every day,” he said when asked if his knee injury had settled. “I’ve been getting a lot treatment. It’s feeling good. I’d like to get on and off the court as quick as possible, save my body for the later rounds.”
As ever, Kyrgios’ serve was his most potent weapon and the second set was over in the blink of an eye after he rattled off five aces and successfully landed 78% of first serves in, going on to win a telling 93% of those points.
The crowd – surely fearing a low-value whitewash – appeared to will his deflated opponent on early in the second, cheering as Dutra Silva broke Kyrgios’ seven-game winning streak at 2-1. But Kyrgios needed just two break points to make short work of the world No101 before sending the game into a third set well under the hour.
Tactically, Kyrgios also used his slice to great effect; forcing the Brazilian to generate his own power and pace. In turn, Dutra Silva often pushed the ball wide as a result.
The third set provided a more even contest, with Dutra Silva rallying with some pinpoint, angled groundstrokes forcing Kyrgios to run, and run wide. The higher-risk approach paid off to a degree; by the set’s end he had exceeded Kyrgios’ winners as he went for broke.
To his credit, however, the Australian refused to be pushed deeper beyond the baseline, forcing another break at 3-3. It was a blow from which Dutra Silva would never recover, and Kyrgios began the final match of the set with a characteristic ace before going on to cruise to victory.
Without doubt, this was not the Kyrgios of old. Perhaps it’s the newfound purpose of the foundation his brother Christos has spearheaded in his name; the Canberran is hoping to realise his vision of providing sporting opportunities to underprivileged youth who can also take shelter on purpose-built premises in sports-mad Melbourne.
Or perhaps it is the belated arrival of a maturity those who have stood by him have long promised, finally coming to fruition after a couple of years in the wilderness post his quarter-finals appearance at this same grand slam in 2015.
“I’m excited to be back in Melbourne,” he said on court. “A couple of years ago I made the quarter-finals here, so I’m hoping to emulate that and hopefully go even further.”
Kyrgios could have been in line for an all-Australian second round, but for Alex Bolt’s heartbreaking loss to Viktor Troicki in five sets.
“Bolty is a good friend of mine,” said Kyrgios. “It’s good to see him playing at this level and doing so well. He’ll be back. I played him [Troicki] last year in Montreal and won, so I’m feeling confident.”
