Playing in his first match in almost a year, Nick Kyrgios made a highly-anticipated return to competition at Melbourne Park, scraping through to the second round of the ATP Murray River Open on Tuesday.
Kyrgios’ 3-6 6-4 7-6(4) win over Alexandre Muller made him one of a host of Aussie victors across the two ATP 250 events forming part of this week’s Melbourne Summer Series.
Also progressing were Spanish whizkid Carlos Alcaraz, former top-20 player Pablo Cuevas and Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Match of the day
Murray River Open: Kyrgios last played in the first round of the ATP Acapulco event in February 2020, and given his long absence from the tour, rust was understandable. The former world No.13 also struggled with a knee injury – informing the trainer at the end of the second set that it did not feel “stable” – yet played consistently enough when he had to in overcoming the 209th-ranked Muller.
"I was excited just to get back out here. Any opponent for me today was gonna be tricky,” said Kyrgios, who next plays fellow Aussie Harry Bourchier. “I just wanted to find my feet, see how I was going to feel out here, and again, somehow pulled it out of the hat – it seems to be the story of my career. I'm just happy to get through.”
Great Ocean Road Open: Uruguay’s Cuevas, an entertaining presence on social media during his quarantine period, overcame a fellow Pablo – Andujar, of Spain – in straight sets to reach the second round.
MORE: Great Ocean Road Open draw
A former world No.19, Cuevas downed the 14th seed to notch his first win since Roland Garros in September, a result setting up a match with Dutchman Robin Haase.
Seeds succeeding
Great Ocean Road Open: While Kyrgios was the only seed in action from the Murray River Open, several seeds progressed in the Great Ocean Road draw on Tuesday. Among them was Kyrgios’ countryman Jordan Thompson, the No.11 seed who was a 4-6 6-4 6-3 win over Gianluca Mager, and Americans Tennys Sandgren and Sam Querrey, seeded No.9 and No.10 respectively.
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Murray River Open: James Duckworth scored his first ATP main-draw match win in a year thanks to a 6-3 6-4 triumph over Czech Tomas Machac. Duckworth, whose last tour-level wins came in early February 2020 on his path to the ATP Pune semifinals, next faces No.7 seed Ugo Humbert of France. “There’s always nerves for the first match of the year, you’re not sure how you’re going to perform,” Duckworth said. “I haven’t played for a while, so to be able to get a win and another match is great leading into the Aussie Open.”
Great Ocean Road Open: Another Aussie, Matt Ebden, scored his first win at any level since February 2020 with an impressive 6-3 7-6(6) victory over 77th-ranked Federico Delbonis. Ebden, a former world No.39 now ranked 320th, is playing in just his sixth event since September 2019, and was a late alternate entry following the withdrawal of Damir Dzumhur. “Obviously without too many matches behind me, you never really know what's going to happen,” Ebden said.
Epic encounter
Murray River Open: Australian young gun Alexei Popyrin saved six match points to beat Croatia’s Borna Gojo and set up a second-round clash with 15th seed Tommy Paul. Popyrin, who reached the third round of the Australian Open in both 2019 and 2020, saved four match points in the second set, and another pair in the final-set tiebreak, to snatch a 6-7(8) 7-6(2) 7-6(7) win.
Great Ocean Road Open: World No.84 Herbert looked down and out when he trailed Maxime Cressy 5-2 in the final set. But in a stunning turnaround, he won 20 of the final 24 points and the final five games in a row to record a 6-7(2) 7-6(2) 7-5 win in two hours and 40 minutes. Awaiting the Frenchman in the second round is Thompson.
Quotes of the day
“When I lost the first set I never really panicked. I wasn't serving anywhere near my best. I wasn't playing anywhere near my best. But I thought my attitude was okay. I kept that pretty calm.”
- Nick Kyrgios
“I think this is very, very rare. I was just taking it one point at a time, trying to hit a big first serve and get a good opportunity to finish the point as quick as possible because I knew when I would get in a rally I didn't feel quite as comfortable.”
- Alexei Popyrin on his comeback victory
“(I’m) just happy to be back in the mix of things. Still can brush up on a couple things and get a bit better, but it's comforting knowing that the game is there.”
- Matt Ebden