A defeat was in store for Nick Kyrgios, in the first-round of the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club placing Australia’s hopes solely on Bernard Tomic.
A misfiring serve, single-handedly offered Milos Raonic the win, ending faulting twice from 15-30 at 4-all.
Raonic fired 20 aces to Kyrgios’ 17, conceding only eight points against a thunderous first serve in a clash lasting two hours and five minutes.
“I was really impressed with the way he (Raonic) played,” Kyrgios told the AAP.
“He was trying to be really aggressive from the get go. I felt really rushed, I didn’t serve well, I didn’t return well, I thought I probably didn’t do anything well today (Wednesday 15 June) –at all– or yesterday (Tuesday 14 June).
“I just hung in. I was really impressed with the way he played. I knew it was a tough draw. There’s heaps of tough players here. I thought he was playing well. It wouldn’t surprise me if he goes really deep this week.”
Having lost so early on, Kyrgios will again have to rely on exhibition matches to be ready for Wimbledon in 11 days.