Kyrgios eases past Baez in Montreal, sets Medvedev showdown

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios picked up where he left off after winning the Citi Open Washington, as he defeated Sebastian Baez in his opening round match at the National Bank Open (Rogers Cup) to set up a second-round meeting with World No.1 Daniil Medvedev.

Kyrgios produced some stellar tennis to record the 6-4 6-4 victory, applying his powerful baseline game with deft touches around the net. The 27-year-old has now won 12 of his past 13 matches, having advanced to his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon last month.

The former World No.13 was aggressive throughout the match, stepping into the baseline to hit through his Argentine opponent. Kyrgios hit six aces, which is a small number by his standards, but made up for it using deep groundstrokes and short angles. The Cranberra native wrapped up proceedings after an hour and 25 minutes, overpowering the 21-year old Baez in a dominating performance.

Kyrgios will face his biggest test when he takes on Medvedev in the next round, the World No.1 won their most recent meeting at the Australian Open in January but the Aussie leads 2-1 in career meetings.