Brisbane: Nick Kyrgios beat Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-2 in the Brisbane International tennis tournament final here Sunday to clinch his maiden tour title on home soil and gain a big confidence boost ahead of the Australian Open.
Carrying a niggling knee injury, the mercurial Australian made a slow start and was forced to save five breakpoints before he managed to carve out own his first break in the seventh game.
The 22-year-old claimed the first set before taking control of the match after his American opponent dropped serve at the start of the second set with a double fault. Kyrgios broke the big-serving Harrison again in a sublime second set display to close out the match and seal his fourth career title.
“I’ve got fond memories of Brisbane, played Davis Cup here and had a massive win over the US,” Kyrgios said in a courtside interview. “Coming here all week I felt right at home… I love playing in front of you guys even though sometimes you may not see it that way, but I do.”
Monfils bags crown
Meanwhile Frenchman Gael Monfils outclassed Russian youngster Andrey Rublev to win the Qatar Open tennis tournament and claim his seventh ATP title Saturday evening at Doha. He had finished runner-up in Doha three times.
Former World No.6 Monfils, who last triumphed at the Citi Open in 2016, cruised to a 6-2 6-3 victory in one hour after dominating from the start.
“It was a satisfying win, no doubt,” Monfils said after the match. “I guess, I worked hard enough for this.”
Agencies
