• Brilliant display by 23rd seed to beat Sonego in straight sets• New-found agility complements power and unpredictabilityThe stadium lights went out for a few confusing minutes, but the brilliance of Nick Kyrgios lit up Melbourne Arena in the Australian’s 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-1) win against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the
Australian Open. It was not a flawless performance by the 23rd seed but it was energetic and often inspired, and 14 aces added another A$2,800 to the coffers of the country’s bushfire relief effort.
Earlier in the day, Kyrgios’s countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis painted an arresting image of Kyrgios in his years as a tubby child prodigy on the courts of Canberra: “He always had the
bomb serve, huge forehand, really good backhand but he wouldn’t move a lick,” Kokkinakis wrote. Those who argue that not much has changed since might have taken heart from Kyrgios’s frequent dashes to the net, and the agility he showed to complement power and unpredictability on Tuesday night in Melbourne.