London--French Open champion Stan Wawrinka gave short shrift to Nick Kyrgios's claims that his 6-3, 6-4 victory in the Queen's Club first round on Tuesday was the result of the Australian's physical and mental fatigue.
Just nine days after his stunning final victory over world number one Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, Wawrinka made light of the tricky switch from clay to grass with a dominant display against one of the ATP Tour's brightest young stars.
The Swiss second seed swept through his first round clash in just 49 minutes to set up a second round meeting with big-serving South African Kevin Anderson at the Wimbledon warm-up event.
But, while Wawrinka was on top form, it was a surprisingly subdued exit for Kyrgios, the flamboyant Australian youngster who burst onto the scene last year with a memorable Wimbledon victory over then-world number one Rafael Nadal.
Kyrgios has gone on to underline his growing reputation this year by becoming the first teenager to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals since 1990 and then knocking Roger Federer out of the Madrid Masters.
But, in his first meeting with Wawrinka, the world number 28's Queen's debut proved a damp squib.
Kyrgios, 20, attributed his poor performance to an illness and home sickness after a lengthy spell on the road.
"I've been sick for the last week. I'm obviously not feeling great," he said.
"I almost found it difficult to get myself engaged and didn't want to be there (on court).
AFP
