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Nick Kyrgios has progressed to Round 2 of the Australian Open for the second consecutive year with a 5 set win over Federico Delbonis.
In a see-sawing match the Australian ran away with the final set to make it a dream day for Australia.
His win – in the final match of the day – made it 7 Aussies into the second round.
He didn’t have it all his own way though as Delbonis put up a good fight against the home town favourite.
It started well for Kyrgios with a win in the first set tiebreaker.
He fought back from a break down to take the opening set.
In the second set though, the match turned, as Kyrgios lost his concentration, and got angry.
A break to Delbonis early in the set saw Kyrgios smash his racquet into the court and receive a code violation.
He would then swear later in the set to give away another code violation and a point penalty.
From that point on, Delbonis was in control, and he took the second set 6-3.
To the Aussies credit, he focused again, and bounced back in the third set.
He would break Delbonis early and win the set 6-3.
In the fourth set, it was a close affair, as both players tried desperately to win the set.
It went to another tiebreaker and Delbonis was able to take the match into a final set.
Unfortunately for Delbonis, Kyrgios lifted to another level, and raced away with the set and the win.
After the match, Kyrgios was relieved to win.
“I haven’t played a lot of competitive tennis in the past couple months due to injury. It was really good to get my first win again. I’m really pleased I got through,” Kyrgios said.
He was also happy the back held up in the match.
“I’m really happy the way I pulled up physically for the fifth set. I
felt I could go on for a long, long time tonight”
Kyrgios also paid credit to Delbonis who played a solid match.
“I was really impressed the way he played. He served really
well.”
“[He] hit his forehand well,” he added.
The Australian number 1 will now play Ivo Karlovic in the second round.
The big server defeated Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets, earlier today.
Nick Kyrgios returns to his favourite court tonight as he takes on Federico Delbonis in the opening round of the Australian Open on Margaret Court Arena. Join The Roar as we live blog the match from around 8:00pm AEDT.
Last year, the ‘Wild Thing’, took over Margaret Court Arena during his match against Benoit Paire.
Despite losing the match in five sets, Kyrgios wowed the crowd with his explosive power and range of trick shots.
The flick shot from him on set point down in the second set will forever be in the video vault of the Australian Open. It will be a shot remembered in time.
Tonight Kyrgios returns to a court he describes as his favourite. This time he plays Argentina’s number three, Federico Delbonis. Delbonis is playing his second Australian Open, and his sixth Grand Slam event tonight.
He has won just twice in his career at this level. Kyrgios, on the other hand, has already made the second round at all four Grand Slams.
At Wimbledon, which has already been highlighted plenty of times, he made the quarter finals after defeating the World Number 1, Rafael Nadal. He will be looking to repeat that at his home Grand Slam but injuries have hurt him in the last six months.
An elbow injury forced him to finish his 2014 season early. A back spasm injury this year forced him to miss the Hopman Cup for Australia.
When he returned for the Sydney International, against Jerzy Janowicz, he struggled for fitness during the three set tussle.
Despite the struggles, Kyrgios almost defeated Janowicz, and he had his chances against the Hopman Cup winner. It will be interesting to see how that back affects him today.
You feel the longer tonight’s match goes on, the better chances Delbonis has of winning against the Australian.
Kyrgios will need to win in straight sets, or four sets, to make sure his back isn’t fully tested tonight.
He has a good chance to do that against the clay court specialist.
Delbonis, who won the Brazil Open in 2014 on clay, has only won four of 19 matches on hard courts in the ATP in the last two years.
His poor performances on hard courts were illustrated last week in Auckland. Against Adrian Mannarino, he was comfortably beaten 6-1 6-1.
If he plays like that against Kyrgios then the Australian will be dominant against him. I predict Kyrgios to be strong tonight.
He will be looking to send out a statement at his home Grand Slam. Delbonis looks to be no match for Kyrgios, despite their similar ranking.
His form on hard courts is a big worry for me. The power of Kyrgios will also be too much for Delbonis.
Tonight should be a comfortable victory for Kyrgios. As long as he is ready to play then he will be too powerful for Delbonis.
Prediction: Kyrgios 3-0
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