CLEARED of unsportsmanlike allegations, Nick Kyrgios has stormed into the French Open’s third round — and a high-stakes encounter with ninth seed Richard Gasquet.
Superior in every facet, Kyrgios destroyed Dutch lucky loser Igor Sijsling 6-3 6-2 6-1 in a compelling 70-minute display.
Serving thunderously and returning aggressively, Kyrgios maintained his perfect record at Roland Garros this year.
And he won over a typically fickle Gallic crowd by helping Sijsling win a game late in the match.
After the umpire ruled a double fault on Sijsling and called the score 5-0 to Kyrgios in the third set, Kyrgios walked past the ball mark and realised it was in.
He turned to Sijsling, who was already towelling off at his chair, “Hey Bro, you should get him (the umpire) to check the mark, I think it’s in,”
The umpire then inspected the mark and declared it was in. Sijsling served three cannons and held for 4-1 — and Kyrgios was given a standing ovation.
Tomorrow’s clash with Gasquet will be the third at grand slam level after engrossing encounters between the pair at Wimbledon over the past three years.
Kyrgios saved a grand slam record nine match points against Gasquet in 2014 and last season was embroiled in a tanking controversy in a draining loss to the French star.
“I think me and Richard have had some really memorable matches,” Kyrgios said.
“To be honest, some of my favourite matches I’ve played are against him.
“Every time we played at Wimbledon it’s been a pretty good showdown.
“We played a lot of times, and he’s a great guy. He’s always a guy that I feel comfortable around.
“He’s always been a guy that’s been nice to me, as well.
“I’m looking forward to it ... he’s a tough competitor.
“I’m sure he’s comfortable playing out here in front of his home crowd.”
Kyrgios knows Gasquet is a serious step up in class after straight sets wins against lowly-ranked opponents.
“It’s in his backyard here,” Kyrgios said.
“He’s played here a lot. He’s obviously trained here a lot, he feels comfortable on this surface.
“He’s comfortable with his game. We have played on all surfaces, and I think he’s a great player on all surfaces.
“I feel confident even though it’s probably one of his favourite surfaces.”
There is significant momentum around Kyrgios at the moment and he is increasingly regarded as a title threat at Wimbledon — if not at Roland Garros.
“I just feel a lot more experienced at the grand slams,” Kyrgios said.
“I feel like I’m still young, but I have played a lot of grand slam matches now.
“I feel like a lot of the players know that I feel comfortable playing on the big stage.
“I’m really happy with the way I performed today.
“I thought I found my form from the back of the court.
“Definitely on returns, I returned a lot better today than I did in the first round.
While Kyrgios escaped monetary sanction after being given a warning in the first round, Andy Murray and Victoria Azarenka were not as fortunate.
Murray was docked $4164 of his first-round purse of $46,600 for a string of audible obscenities against Radek Stepanek.
And a distraught Azarenka was fined $1390 for equipment abuse after retiring from the first round with a knee injury.
The fines were issued as Simona Halep and Svetlana Kuznetsova led an impressive early charge into the second round in perfect conditions
Sixth seed Halep ousted Kazakh Zarina Diyas 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 before 2009 Roland Garros champion Kuznetsova pounded England’s Heather Watson 6-1 6-3.
Russian 24th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova eliminated qualifier Cagla Buyukakcay’s pioneering run 6-3 4-6 6-1.
Buyukakcay is the first Turkish woman to win a grand slam match.
Dual Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was untroubled in advancing 6-4 6-1 over Su-Wei Hsieh.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori speared into the round of 32 with a 6-3 6-3 6-3 whipping of Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.
He will next play Australian Open semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco, who downed Croat Ivan Dodig 6-2 6-1 6-2.
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