Crafty Kyrgios leaves Medvedev in his dust

Nick Kyrgios took full advantage of his crafty game to eliminate Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the Italian Open yesterday.

For his first win on clay this year, Kyrgios was full of smiles as he fired aces and passing shots seemingly at will in the Rome tournament.

Kyrgios set the tone by serving underhand to start the match, catching Medvedev off guard. There were also a bevy of drop shots and even a successful through-the-legs effort.

“I was trying to throw him off his game because I knew he loves rhythm. He’s a great player,” Kyrgios said. “Today was a lot of fun. I thought the crowd was a lot of fun. It’s very important to go out there and put on a bit of a show.”

Medvedev played better after getting his lower back massaged after the first set but had no answer for Kyrgios’ wide array of shots in the third, prompting the frustrated Russian to break his racquet by slamming it on the dirt.

Kyrgios won the final game at love by serving four straight aces. He had 15 aces in all.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams withdrew ahead of her second-round match against sister Venus because of a previously injured left knee.

Also, Joao Sousa saved four match points before beating Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4) to set up a meeting with Roger Federer, who made a late decision to play in Rome because he wants more matches.

Italian wildcard and Rome resident Matteo Berrettini reached the third round by upsetting 2017 Rome champion Alexander Zverev 7-5, 7-5 amid a raucous football-like atmosphere on Campo Centrale; while David Goffin rallied past Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Others advancing included Karen Khachanov, Marin Cilic, American qualifier Taylor Fritz, Radu Albiot, Jeremy Chardy and Diego Schwartzman.

Caroline Wozniacki retired due to a left leg injury after losing a first-set tiebreaker to Danielle Collins.