Nick Kyrgios is reliably compelling viewing at any time, let alone on a night that featured such irritants as a noisy hovering helicopter, an intrusive fan escorted from the premises, a dodgy audio system and an annoyingly extended third set. Yet just as the Australian’s composure faced, and ultimately passed, a range of unusual tests, he could also be satisfied with the healthy pass mark awarded to his performance against Viktor Troicki.
On a balmy Wednesday evening, the 17th seed’s usual venue, Hisense Arena, was the scene of his eventful passage into the Australian Open’s last 32 for the third time. After a disappointing last Grand Slam season blighted by injury, Kyrgios has thus opened the new one by equalling his best result in a major since the US Open in 2016.
The 22-year-old beat Troicki, the seasoned Serb, 7-5 6-4 7-6(2) in the high-energy environment where he is most comfortable, but also the one where he suffered that infamous meltdown from a two-sets-to-love lead against Andreas Seppi in the corresponding match 12 months ago.
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Not this time. Despite some regular dialogue with chair umpire James Keothavong – who admitted "it's not my day, is it?" after being accidentally hit in the head by a ball struck by an apologetic Troicki in the tiebreak – the aforementioned interruptions and an inability to convert a match point at 5-3 that preceded a rare poor service game and unscripted tiebreak, there was no such implosion.
Indeed, despite a few cranky moments, there was much for Kyrgios to be satisfied with, tennis-wise, and particularly a serve that produced 17 aces, 58 of 69 points won when he landed the first ball, and just the single, out-of-nowhere break of serve. Temperamentally, the plus was his ability to keep calm and composed late in the contest after holding a match point at 5-3. He is yet to drop a set.
But, on the inside, the new Brisbane International champion admitted he “kind of started freaking out a little bit” after dropping his serve at 5-4, and then willing himself to the tiebreak. “It was tough,’’ Kyrgios said. “There were a lot of things going on today, there was a lot of adversity, definitely didn’t feel like an Australian Open match. But it was a good win.’’
Kyrgios was pleased with how he dealt with the distractions, admitting he may not have done so as successfully in the past.
“I think last year, the year before, I probably would have been probably still out on the court right now, could be losing that match. I feel like, yeah, obviously my game helped me in the tiebreaker. I played a pretty good level in the tiebreak.
“Today I thought I played pretty solid. I served well. Thought I returned pretty good. Hit my forehand well, hit my backhand well. I'm still not playing as well as I would like to be at the moment. But I'm getting through, which is good.’’
Another sign of his growing maturity is the fact Kyrgios admits he may now have outgrown the loud, high-energy environment of Hisense. RLA? Bring it on!
“I played a lot of matches on Rod Laver. I've hit on it a lot of times. I'm ready for it.
"I'm guessing I'll probably be playing on Rod Laver next round. Yeah, of course I'm ready for it,’’ said Kyrgios, who made his debut on the stadium court in the 2014 junior final against Thanasi Kokkinakis.
That match will be against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, one of his childhood favourites (no prizes for guessing the other). The Frenchman is 10 years his senior, but still among the world’s top 20 a decade after that stirring, unseeded run to the final at Melbourne Park.
The 15th-seeded Tsonga advanced just as the seedings had predicted, even if the scoreboard had not, when young Canadian Denis Shapovalov led 5-2 in the fifth set. Kyrgios lost his only previous clash with Tsonga, in three sets last year as the defending champion in Marseille.
“I’m looking forward to it. He’s one of my idols, he’s a good friend of mine,’’ said Kyrgios, recalling the tight contest that was the Marseille three-setter.
“It was just the way he played his game. I liked his aggressive style of tennis. He had a big serve, big forehand. He played an entertaining style tennis.
"When I was 12, I went to all his practice sessions. He made the final in 2008. I think I was 12. I went to all his practice sessions with a new ball. He signed it every day. I don't know if he remembers. I didn't miss one of his practice sessions.’’
Tsonga, meanwhile, is expecting a little more of what he experienced against Shapovalov, another flamboyant young star.
“Like today. He's got the fire in the arms,’’ said the popular Frenchman. “I think it's going to be a good match. Yeah, what can I say? Everybody know what he will try to do, what I will try to do, so …
“I'm very exciting about it. It's good to play against those guys. They are, for sure, the present, but also the future of tennis. Yeah, I played so many guys when I was young like them. I remember I played Tim Henman in US Open. I played Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, so many guys like this, of different generation. So it's always good to play against them and compare our tennis to their tennis.’’
