Nick Kyrgios promised to "put on a show" in his first-round match at the US Open, and he did not disappoint as he produced a serving masterclass in his straight-sets win over American Steve Johnson.
In a match that did not start until after 11:00pm (local time) in New York and finished after 1:00am, Kyrgios fulfilled his pre-match prediction by sending down a staggering 24 aces to win 6-3, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Naturally for Kyrgios, his triumph was not without drama.
He was involved in some heated exchanges with the chair umpire, as well as spectators, and at one point muttered on court: "You could not have picked a more boring sport as a profession."
Johnson even showed frustration with his opponent during the second set, when he implored the Australian to just "play tennis".
The victory sets up a second-round encounter for Kyrgios against France's Antoine Hoang and the draw has opened up for the 28th seed to go deep in the tournament, following the shock exit of world number eight Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas lost 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 to Andrey Rublev in an eventful match, with the Greek telling the chair umpire "you're all weirdos" during a tirade against perceived bias.
More to come.
