Read & Watch: Kyrgios Works His Way Through Tokyo Opener

Nick Kyrgios knew playing last week’s Shenzhen Open champion Yoshihito Nishioka in front of the Japanese’s home crowd in Tokyo would be a difficult proposition. But the 2016 champion was solid under pressure on Wednesday afternoon, saving two set points in the second set en route to a 7-5, 7-6(3) victory to reach the second round of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018.

“It’s tough. He’s obviously riding a lot of confidence from last week, coming to your home and playing in front of your home crowd, he was probably looking forward to it today,” Kyrgios said. “It was a good match, I thought. He had a chance in the second set, but it’s never easy playing one of the home favourites.”

It was a strong performance by Kyrgios, who now owns a 7-1 record at this tournament. The 23-year-old has advanced past his opener 11 times in 12 events this season. It doesn’t hurt that he knows he has enjoyed success in Japan and against Nishioka, whom he defeated two years ago at Atlanta in their only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

“Not just here, just doing well in general is good for me confidence-wise on the tennis court. Obviously I’ve had success here before, so I think the conditions are a little bit different to the last time I played this tournament,” Kyrgios said. “I think indoors, it’s a little bit faster this year. It probably suits my game a little bit more. I feel good coming back to Tokyo. I’ve always played good tennis here. I won a couple titles here in juniors as well, so I always feel comfortable coming back.”

In the next round, the Aussie will face a stiff challenge in Frenchman Richard Gasquet. The No. 8 seed has defeated Kyrgios in five of seven previous FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes. However, they have not competed against one another since Roland Garros two and a half years ago.