Nick Kyrgios cruises into Tokyo Open second round while top seed Casper Ruud has been knocked out
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
ByEurosport
Updated 04/10/2022 at 14:20 GMT
Nick Kyrgios is the only returning champion or finalist for the ATP 500 tournament in Japan this year, having won it back in 2016, and said before Tuesday's match that going out of the US Open in the quarter-finals to Karen Khachanov had "added a bit of fuel" to get back on the tour an improved player. Kyrgios began his Tokyo campaign this year with an easy win over Taiwan's Chun-Hsin Tseng.
Highlights: Fifth seed Kyrgios begins Japan Open campaign with routine win over Tseng
Nick Kyrgios is into the second round of the Tokyo Open after a comfortable 6-3 6-1 win over Chun-Hsin Tseng in one hour and six minutes, while top seed Casper Ruud was knocked out in straight sets.
Kyrgios overpowered his opponent, producing 26 winners compared to Tseng's 11, and it never looked like the Taiwanese player would ever find a way back into the match.
This year's Wimbledon finalist will play either Sho Shimabukuro or Kamil Majchrzak in the second round.
Tseng put up a good fight in the opening half of the first set, but Kyrgios never looked back after sealing the break to move into a 4-2 lead.
After wrapping up the first set in 36 minutes, the second was a very comfortable one for Kyrgios. After losing the opening game, the world No. 20 won the next six games in a commanding victory.
But it was bad news for US Open finalist Ruud, who was knocked out in the first round by Spain's Jaume Munar 6-3 6-3.
It is a second top-10 win for Munar in his career, having beaten then-world No. 3 Alexander Zverev in Marrakech in 2019.
"I think it's one of the best [wins of my career]," Munar said after the match.
"Casper is a great player. We all know that maybe this is not his best surface, not even mine. But I managed to play the tennis I needed to play today.
"I think it wasn't a great match but from my side I did what I needed to do. Very happy to be through. Casper is one of the best players in the world right now."
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/10/04/3464696-70679093-2560-1440.jpg)
Highlights: Top-seed Ruud crashes out in first round to Munar in Tokyo
Current world No. 3 Ruud says he was not at his usual level.
"I couldn't find the level I needed to today," he said.
"I wasn't able to get my feet going or the game going. If I want to play well I need to move well, and that wasn't the case today.
"[There are] many things that I can make excuses about, but at the end it was not my day and Jaume was the better player, and you saw it clearly in the score."
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/geo/country/flag/large/2229.png)
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/geo/country/flag/large/2784.png)