Hopman Cup: Australia’s Kyrgios tunes up for Murray

Defeated Zverev 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in just over an hour on opening day

PERTH: Precocious Australian Nick Kyrgios warmed up for an early season test against world number two Andy Murray with an impressive come-from-behind win on the opening day of the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth on Sunday.

Kyrgios defeated German Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in just over an hour and will face Murray when Australia Green — one of two teams representing the host nation in the event — play Great Britain on Wednesday.

“I have been looking forward to that for a long time now so I’m going to go and do everything I can to physically prepare for that battle,” he said.



Murray has won all four of their encounters, most recently at last year’s US Open, and Kyrgios has taken just one set off the Scot.

Meanwhile, Daria Gavrilova beat a rusty Sabine Lisicki in the women’s singles 6-2, 6-2, and Australia Green went on to achieve a clean sweep, winning the mixed doubles on a tiebreak, 6-3, 4-6, 10-7.

Gavrilova, ranked 36th in the world, celebrated her first appearance for Australia with a comfortable win over a clearly underdone Lisicki.



The Russian-born Gavrilova only officially switched allegiances to Australia last month and said she was nervous before the match.

For Lisicki, it was her first match since the US Open last September.

The 2013 Wimbledon finalist was beaten in the fourth round by Simona Halep at the US Open and was sidelined by a knee injury for the rest of the year. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2016.

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