"He's very nice to me" - Kyrgios on Bautista Agut

Wednesday, 22 June 2022 at 06:30

Updated at Tuesday, 03 December 2024 at 16:25

bySam Frape

After defeating Laslo Djere in the first round of the Mallorca Championships, Nick Kyrgios is set to go up against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.

Following what ended up being a tough battle in the opening match for the Australian, taking him three sets to see off Djere, the man from Down Under was keen to look forward rather than back, ahead to his next opponent.

Awaiting him in the next round will be not only Roberto Bautista Agut, one-time Wimbledon semi-finalist but also the weight of the home crowd behind him. What is more, the Spaniard has the upper hand in the head-to-head against Kyrgios (2-1), meaning the ball is in the Aussie's court.

Faced with this prospect, Kyrgios was not in the mood to make any enemies pre-match, with him praising the relationship he has with the Spaniard. Following his first-round win, he said:

"I've played good tie-breaks in my career and I know that if I'm serving well I've got a good chance. He was serving really, really well today and he played the big points really well. I'm just happy to win."

"Laslo is a tough competitor. We grew up together in juniors so I knew he was capable of playing some good tennis. I'm proud of myself for that [win]."

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"Another hard one. He's a great player and he's a great guy as well. He's one of my mates on tour and he's very nice to me."

Kyrgios certainly goes into the second-round clash in good form, having reached the semi-final stage in two of the grass-court tournaments he has played this season.

A forever-dangerous player on grass, only time will tell whether Kyrgios has what it takes to defeat Bautista Agut and the crowd he will undoubtedly have behind him in Mallorca.