After a dominant run to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells, Australia’s Nick Kyrgios stayed in Miami with another straight-sets victory on Wednesday.
His 7-6(3), 6-3 win did not come easy against the “ridicuously tricky” France’s Adrian Mannarino, but strong serving kept the pressure off and set up power-packed late strikes in both sets.
“That first-serve percentage was key tonight,” Kyrgios said after the match. “If I miss my first serve, he’s going to be on the front foot from the early jump, and I couldn’t afford to do that tonight against such a tricky opponent.”
Kyrgios posted an 82 per cent win rate on first serve, making 75 per cent of his first deliveries, and did not allow the crafty Frenchman a break point. While Mannarino was strong on serve himself, allowing just one break chance in each set, Kyrgios struck a flurry of return winners at the crucial moments in both sets.
He found a killer angle off the return to secure an early mini-break in the first-set tie-break, surprising even himself with his precision from outside the doubles alley.
On the return at 3-4 in the second, Kyrgios fired back-to-back backhand return winners to turn 30/15 into 30/40. He had to wait a little longer to find a winner on break point, as he showed great patience before a lengthy rally with a looping forehand.
Ace No. 12 ended the match after one hour, 32 minutes, setting up a second-round showdown with Andrey Rublev, already a two-time ATP Tour champion in 2022.
