By Toby Davis
LONDON (Reuters) – Maverick showman Nick Kyrgios breezed into the third round at Wimbledon with his usual mixture of exuberant shot-making and near constant chatter as he made light work of Italian Gianluca Mager to progress 7-6(7) 6-4 6-4 on Thursday.
Kyrgios went through his usual repertoire of berating officials, himself and anyone else in his vicinity but when it came to the serious business on court he was almost faultless.
He saved a set point in the first set tiebreak and then roared in approval as he snatched the opener before taking the game away from his 77th-ranked opponent with some superb serving and delightful groundstrokes.
He fired down his 29th ace to bring up match point and then sealed his spot in the next round when Mager hit a forehand long, receiving a rapturous reception from an approving crowd.
Next up for Kyrgios, who was playing only his second match since losing in the third round of the Australian Open in February, will be a clash against either Canadian 16th seed Felix Auger Aliassime or Sweden’s Mikael Ymer.
(Reporting by Toby Davis; Editing by Ken Ferris)
