A straight sets win doesn’t mean a boring one when it comes to Nick Kyrgios.
The 26-year-old opened the Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win over British qualifier Liam Broady. Kyrgios, though, spiced up the victory with some of his usual theatrics, while also throwing in some new tricks.
The Australian served the ball between his legs in his first service game, winning the point after Broady sent the backhand return long.
Nick Kyrgios plays a shot between his legs in the first round of the Australian Open. AFP via Getty Images
Kyrgios’ return to the court came after dealing with COVID last week.
“I had some doubts, a lot of messages (asking) if I was going to play, but I just couldn’t ask for a better team,” Kyrgios told reporters. “The last week has been tough, I did isolation, my girlfriend was there and I was lucky enough to have a tennis court just to hit some serves. Obviously I served f–king well today.”
Kyrgios, who plays No. 2 seed and tournament favorite Daniil Medvedev in the second round, did have some issues with the crowd. According to reports, the audience was celebrating Kyrgios’ success with a “sluuu” chant that was meant to mimic soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo’s familiar cheer.
“Yeah, it’s just a stupid, f–k, I can’t believe they did it so much,” Kyrgios said.
Nick Kyrgios serves the ball between his legs during his win over Liam Broady. EPA“They were doing some Ronaldo thing. Ronaldo does it every time he scores. It’s like — I thought they were going to do it for like 10 minutes. They did it for two-and-a-half hours, like every point.”
