Two months of competitive tennis is starting to wear on Nick Kyrgios, with the Australian turning in a subdued performance on Wednesday to bounce out of the Cincinnati masters 6-3, 6-2 to Taylor Fritz.
In contrast to the lethargic and burned-out Aussiem Fritz was a bundle of energy as he kept pace with the highs peed Kyrgios pace to send the Wimbledon finalist out in 51 minutes.
Kyrgios was clearly not relishing the second-round match, with complaints about flashing LED lights in an electronic court hoarding drew his attention after just three games.
The ambience did not improve as Fritz, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, went about his demolition of the No. 28.
The 11th seed sent down a 12th ace for match point and quickly wrapped up business to reach the third round and a date with Andrey Rublev.
The sixth seed booked in 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 6-2 over colourful Italian Fabio Fognini.
Kyrgios was on a good run against Americans, having defeated his last five prior to facing Fritz; he stood 15-2 since his surprise Wimbledon final last month.
“It feels great the way my game is coming together,” the winner said. “This is the kind of match I need to build confidence.
“A lot of things were clicking today, I felt great.
“The most important thing for me going out there was to serve pretty well and
take care of my serve,.
“If he steals a break from you, then he’s really good at just holding serve, and
he’s going to kind of run away with it.”
Kyrgios has admitted he’s pining for his family in Canberra after being gone since early June.
The 27-year-old has said he will push through the US Open which starts a week from Monday but declined to play the Laver Cup in September in London and won’t join the Australian Davis Cup squad for an upcoming tie.
