Nick Kyrgios finished off No.21 seed Ugo Humbert 9-7 in the fifth set of their suspended first-round match at Wimbledon.
The match had been halted at 3-all in the fifth set on Tuesday evening because local rules prevent play past 11pm. When they resumed on No.1 Court, Kyrgios broke for an 8-7 lead and then saved two break points in the final game before clinching the match with a service winner. The full scoreline was 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-1 9-7.
It was Kyrgios' first match since the Australian Open in February, where he also beat Humbert in an entertaining five-setter.
The Australian said in an on-court interview that his performance was "not too bad for a part-time player." He is now 4-0 in five-set matches at Wimbledon and next plays world No.77 Italian Gianluca Mager.
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Kyrgios won the first and fourth sets Tuesday; Humbert took the second and third. Humbert was coming off his first grass-court title after winning the Halle Open this month.
Afterwards Kyrgios was asked about the slippery courts that have become a talking point at Wimbledon. The Australian suffered an awkward fall during the fifth set that caused him to cry out in pain, with brief fears that he may be unable to continue.
"I'm a very interesting person to ask about movement," Kyrgios said in his post-match press conference, smiling.
"I definitely think being Australian growing up on the grass helps. I played a lot of grass court matches when I was a junior … I developed my grass court game early.
"My instincts on grass are quite good … for me it kind of comes naturally.
"To be honest, I have shocking footwork. Probably should never ask me that question ever again. That's more like a Diego Schwartzman type thing I think, but I think for me it comes more naturally.
"I'm not the most flexible bloke so any time my legs spread a little bit apart I'm like, 'Ahh'.
"Going down, it was pretty brutal. It hurt, my hip hurt. But I got back up and showed some resilience, coming with age."
Kyrgios said that the rainy start to Wimbledon had not helped the courts.
"I don't think the rain helps, especially the outside courts when it gets slippery and a bit unpredictable," Kyrgios said.
"It's just sometimes what happens on the grass. I think the game's evolved now where there's so many rallies and players are so capable of making so many returns or that extra ball where the body's actually not supposed to be in those positions and then people slip over and injuries happen.
"The load as well. These players have played a lot of matches and the tennis schedule is brutal, it's absolutely brutal. You've got the French Open (in May and June), then you're on the grass and you're just expected to bring out you best tennis from week to week.
"I don't know if there's a solution but it just is what it is on the grass … the grass has got that unpredictable factor that there's no guarantee any time you go out there that you could be injured."
Kyrgios was a happy man after winning his opening match against the in-form Hubert. It was his first match outside of Australia in more than 18 months yet he had warned that he was still a dangerous opponent, despite slipping to world No.60.
"When he's playing good," Humbert said, "he's one of the best."
Kyrgios said post-match: "Look, a lot of people were telling me, 'There's no chance. There's no point in you going with that short preparation'. I was hearing a load of things. (Someone was) telling me, 'There's no chance you can come off the couch and compete at this level'.
"I'm like, 'Dude, I know my game.' I know how to play on grass. I'm not scared of anyone in the draw. I know if I believe and I'm feeling good mentally, like, I know what I'm capable of. I've been playing this sport since I was seven years old. … I'm going to serve big and play big and just compete."
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