Nick Kyrgios improved to 5-0 lifetime at the BB&T Atlanta Open with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Noah Rubin during second-round action on Thursday night. Kyrgios fired 15 aces and won 24 of 28 first-serve points to advance in a mere 56 minutes.
The 18th-ranked Australian won the Atlanta title in 2016–beating John Isner in the final–before being forced to withdraw last summer due to injury.
“I always feel comfortable playing here,” Kyrgios commented. “I’ve played this tournament once and obviously have had a fair bit of success here. The court suits my game style. I can serve well, make a couple returns, and play aggressive. It sort of suits a big style. It’s once of my favorite places to play. I was looking forward to this event a lot. A lot of my buddies are playing here–Fritzy (Taylor Fritz), Frances (Tiafoe), and John (Isner). It’s been a good vibe all week.
“It’s perfect serving conditions on that court. That’s why John’s had such good success here. It’s almost impossible returning serve.”
Marcos Baghdatis also advanced to the quarterfinals–his first such result since Sofia in February–with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Frances Tiafoe earlier in the day. Baghdatis trailed by a break early in the first set but took control the rest of the way and prevailed after one hour and 17 minutes.
The 33-year-old Cypriot, who finished runner-up to Isner in 2015, benefited from nine Tiafoe double-faults. He saved all three of the break points he faced during the second frame of play and won a dominant 64 percent of his second-serve return points–including 11 of 13 in set two.
“I’m feeling good; playing well,” said Baghdatis. “Very solid; not giving too many points away once I’m in zone…. I love it here. The weather suits to my style; similar to weather back at home (in Cyprus). The speed of the courts I like.”
The world No. 95 is through to his first ATP quarterfinal since Sofia in February, in which he will meet Matthew Ebden on Friday.
“It’s nice (to be in another quarterfinal),” Baghdatis assured. “Quarterfinals, I’m happy. I try to play every match as if it’s the same and I’ll try to go as far as possible in the tournament…. It’s gonna be a tough one (against Ebden). I’ll just try to be as solid as possible like today.”
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weird for a while, but overall decent from Nick