Kyrgios rains aces in Open triumph
IMMUNE to a rash of openingday upsets, Grigor Dimitrov has underlined undeniable Australian Open title credentials with a merciless throttling of Austrian qualifier Dennis Novak.
Seeded third, Dimitrov banished world No. 226 Novak in just 98 minutes, triumphing 6- 3 6- 2 6- 1.
A potential fourth- round hurdle for Nick Kyrgios, Dimitrov plundered Novak’s defences on Rod Laver Arena with 21 winners and seven aces.
The world No. 3 almost toppled Rafael Nadal in last season’s semi- finals and, having coursed so close to glory, covets the ultimate this year.
“Match by match is the way I’m approaching it,” he said. “But I won’t lie. It’s been a dream of mine to win a grand slam.”
The Bulgarian’s untroubled advance came as US Open finalist Kevin Anderson, American 16th seed John Isner and German 27th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber were sent packing.
Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund toppled 11th seed Anderson in an enthralling 6- 7 ( 4- 7) 6- 3 3- 6 6- 3 6- 4 battle before Perth’s Matt Ebden nailed Isner 6- 4 3- 6 6- 3 6- 3. DARIA Gavrilova has produced a performance worthy of the Australian Open’s biggest stage, downing Irina Falconi to advance to the second round.
On the bright lights of Rod Laver Arena, Australia’s No. 2 turned it on against the American qualifier, winning 6- 1 6- 1 in 63 minutes on Monday night.
Gavrilova lost her opening serve then put together nine straight games to take a stranglehold of the match, progressing to a clash with Belgian Elise Mertens on Wednesday. NICK Kyrgios has maintained his perfect record in the first round of the Australian Open, making short work of Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva.
Australia’s top hope of ending a 40- year wait for a home- grown winner at Melbourne Park eased into the second round with a 6- 1 6- 2 6- 4 win over the world No. 100, helped by 16 aces.
Kyrgios will play Viktor Troicki tomorrow after the Serbian denied Australian Alex Bolt wildcard in five sets s on day one of the Open. Kyrgios was s irrepressible on serve, raining aces s that topped out at 217km/ h.
Without strapping on his troubled knee, the 22- year- old played with freedom – and, crucially for his injury issues, got off court in just 95 minutes. Kyrgios’ four matches t h on the way to the Brisbane International title means he’s played more competitive tennis than most of his Open rivals.
Having backed off the training since s arriving at Melbourne Park, the quick q dismissal of Dutra Silva allows his h trainers to maintain control of his workload in the early stages of the fortnight- long event.
In the first two sets, Kyrgios showed all the hallmarks of a maturing player, as he has pledged to become.
He cruised through the opening set in under half an hour, slamming seven aces and making just seven unforced errors.
His often- controversial interactions with the chair umpire were limited to a polite request to quieten the rowdy Hisense Arena crowd.
Dutra Silva snapped Kyrgios’ seven- game winning streak early in the second set, holding to make the score 2- 1, but was only just clinging on. The 23- minute second set was even quicker, with Kyrgios making just six errors of any kind.
The 33- year- old found his serving rhythm in the third set but came unstuck in the seventh game, dropping to 0- 40 on serve and handing a break to Kyrgios. Smelling blood, the Canberran closed the match out on his next service match, before confessing anxiety before taking the court.
“I was very nervous coming out here for the first match,” he said. “I don’t think I played as well as I did in Brisbane.
“I knew today I was facing a tough competitor. I’m just happy to be here, riding confidence from Brisbane ... and playing well.”