By Lance Jenkinson
Local hope Nick Kyrgios was powerless to stop his ousting from the first round of Australian Open 2019 by a clinical Canadian Milos Raonic on the second day at Melbourne Arena on Tuesday night.
In a battle of two big servers with both eclipsing 220km/h on the radar, Kyrgios went down in straight sets 6-4 7-6 6-4 in one hour, 56 minutes.
The match was undoubtedly won on the Raonic serve.
Raonic produced near perfect service all match to the point that he rendered Kyrgios helpless at times.
It was not just a barrage of high powered aces that Raonic delivered, but it was also his mixed speed serves designed to clip the tape down the middle and the tram lines out wide that he nailed with precision.
For Kyrgios to face a player of Raonic’s calibre so early in the tournament and one that is on his game was unlucky, but that is the life of an unseeded player.
Kyrgios, who fought out the match hard, could only tip his cap to Raonic post game.
“He played unbelievable,” Kyrgios said. “Unbelievable service – I’ve never seen serving like that in my life.
“I was just watching it literally go side to side. I was trying to mix up where I was standing, trying to move before, during, like trying to do anything. He was in such a good rhythm on serve, I couldn’t do anything.”
Raonic spoilt the fans with the high level of tennis he played.
The numbers tell the whole story. The 16th seed thundered down 30 aces to Kyrgios’s 15. He won on his first serve 90% of the time.
To top it off, Raonic hit 53 winners to Kyrgios’s 34.
It was a brutal display from Raonic – one that might have you readjusting your men’s singles bracket if you had him bowing out early.
“Milos played scary,” Kyrgios said.
Kyrgios, who competed well and has the statistics to back it up, it was a premature end to his singles campaign.
On another night against another opponent, he could have ended up on top in this match, but Raonic was on another level.
With his interrupted preparation – a spider bite providing a nuisance and his knee was heavily strapped – a lesser work load could be a blessing in disguise for Kyrgios.
He will play doubles to round out his Australian Open.
“I’ve had a sore knee now for a while,” Kyrgios said. “Did everything I could, been warming up, been super professional before I’m even hitting. Just an ongoing thing.”
