Nick Kyrgios deals with distractions to down Troicki

The Australian has to cope with a loud chanting fan and a helicopter hovering persistently over Hisense Arena as he defeated Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2).

Nick Kyrgios was relieved to get through what he termed a ‘tough match’.

Nick Kyrgios was niggled by off-court distractions as he overcame Serbian journeyman Viktor Troicki in straight sets to reach the third round at the Australian Open on Wednesday. The explosive Australian 17th seed was largely in control, winning 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), but had to cope with a loud chanting fan and a helicopter hovering persistently over Hisense Arena.

After missing a match point and a couple of loose forehands, Kyrgios was broken by Troicki, who forced the final set into a tiebreak. But the Australian was devastating, rifling through it to hold five match points before winning 7/2.

‘Tough’

"It was tough, there was a lot of stuff going on out there, had a helicopter above us for three games and the (umpire) microphone wasn't working for pretty much the whole match," Kyrgios said. "It was tough conditions out there, I know Viktor is a fighter, so I had to stick to my guns and he broke me back when I was serving for the match and I started freaking out a little bit. I tried to hold serve and then work it out in the breaker and I got lucky, it was a tough match and I'm happy I got through."

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With Kyrgios about to serve early in the match, a young man in the crowd stood up and chanted loudly before he was ushered out of the stadium by security staff. He then had to deal with the helicopter which stayed above the unenclosed stadium for several minutes before moving on.

In among all the commotion Kyrgios was in a different class to the 65th-ranked Troicki, who has reached the round of 16 five times at Grand Slams. Kyrgios, who was slapped with a USD 3,000 penalty for colourful language in his first-round match, looked imperious at times, mixing up blistering forehands with delicate touch shots to enthral the home crowd.

He won his first home ATP Tour title at the lead-up Brisbane International and is looking to go further than a quarterfinal appearance in Melbourne three years ago. The tempestuous 22-year-old has the brilliance and talent to win his national Open, yet it is his fractious state of mind that often lets him down during his matches.