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Kyrgios, de Minaur power on in Montreal

3 minute read

Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur are both through to the second round of the Montreal Masters 1000 event following straight-set wins in their tournament openers.

NICK KYRGIOS.
NICK KYRGIOS. Picture: Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images

Nick Kyrgios has set up a second-round blockbuster with world No.1 Daniil Medvedev as Australia's tennis aces continued their promising US Open preparations in Montreal.

Fresh off his historic singles-doubles title double in Washington on Sunday, Kyrgios defeated Argentine Sebastian Baez 6-4 6-4 to extend his hard-court winning streak to seven matches.

After going 64 games unbroken in the American capital, Kyrgios finally had his sequence stopped at 67 when he dropped serve in the opening set on Wednesday.

But he quickly regrouped to regain control before sealing victory after 85 minutes.

The win elevated Kyrgios into a seeding position for Flushing Meadows, the year's final grand slam starting in New York on August 29.

But the Wimbledon runner-up admitted he was a little jaded after claiming his first title in three years last week.

"Physically I feel fine. Mentally I'm just so tired," Kyrgios said.

"Obviously it's never easy. I haven't had much sleep the last couple of nights.

"But I'm trying to put that behind me. I'm in Montreal and I haven't really played great tennis in Montreal in the past so I wanted to come out here today and get that match-up.

"Playing Medvedev next is a great test. It will be great fun but I just wanted to create some good memories in Montreal."

After being banned from Wimbledon, Medvedev has hit the ground running back on hard courts, the Russian also reigning last week in Los Cabos, Mexico without losing a set.

"Medvedev is a hell of a player. He's so unorthodox, he's a great competitor and he's just an animal and I'd like to see where I'm at," Kyrgios said.

"He'll probably be feeling a little bit fatigued as well. I know I definitely am but I'm going to give it my best shot."

Earlier, Alex de Minaur also moved comfortably in to the second round of the Masters 1000 event.

The Australian No.1 needed only five points and three minutes to mop up a 7-5 7-6 (7-4) win after rain had forced the suspension of play on Monday with the second-set tiebreak locked up at 3-3.

After claiming his sixth career title last month in Atlanta, de Minaur's victory was his eighth from his past 10 hard-court matches.

The 2020 US Open quarter-finalist next plays Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian beat Canadian wildcard Alexis Galarneau 6-4 7-5 in his opener.

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