Cincinnati Open: Nick Kyrgios beats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the opening round

Nick Kyrgios continued with his strong performance at the American hard court season in the first tour-level meeting against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Both players began the game equally matched, clinching three points each. The first set went into a tiebreak, and Nick Kyrgios clinched the opening set 7-5.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina bounced back in the second set and broke the Australian to take a 2-2 lead.

However, Nick Kyrgios immediately broke back to win the second set 6-4 to secure his victory after 1 hour and 30 minutes of play. The win extended his win streak in first-round matches of the year to 11-0.

The 27-year-old Australian served ten aces, 71% of the points on the first serve and broked Alejandro Davidovich Fokina three times from four opportunities. In contrast, the Spaniard served three aces, won 58% of the points on the first serve, and won one breakpoint.

After the victory, Nick Kyrgios said, "He's a tricky player, he's so talented, he's got so many shots at his disposal. So I knew that I just had to serve well and then dictate as much as I can. His backhand is incredible. It was a tricky match."

Insights In Attack

Nick Kyrgios fired the ball from attacking positions 33% of the time to showcase his dominance during the rallies despite struggling with consistency in the match's early stages.

The 2022 Citi Open winner Nick Kyrgios will lock horns with Taylor Fritz of the United States in the second round of the Masters 1000 event on August 17.

No. 11 seed Taylor Fritz booked a second-round spot after beating Sebastian Baez of Argentina with a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 straight-set victory.

Jannik Sinner beats Thanasi Kokkinakis 

World No. 12 Jannik Sinner secured a 6-7(9), 6-4, 7-6(6) victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis after a hard-fought three-set match.

The 21-year-old Italian dominated the game with his forehand winners and struck 43 winners compared to 35 winners by Thanasi Kokkinakis to book a second-round clash with Miomir Kecmanović of Serbia.

After the victory, Jannik Sinner said, "I love to play tennis and doing the thing that you love on your birthday is the best thing you can do. Obviously, today was a happy ending, so I am very happy about that."

The victory improved the win-loss record of Jannik Sinner to 37-10 for the season. The six-time tour-level champion is looking to win his maiden Masters 1000 title in Ohio.

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