[imagesource: AP]

Playing in front of a home crowd usually brings with it some added pressure and expectation.

Then again, Nick Kyrgios isn’t your usual tennis player.

His on and off-court behaviour sets him apart from many of his fellow professionals and that was once again on display during his Australian Open first-round match against Brit Liam Broady.

Kyrgios strolled to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win but it was his serve in the first set that stole the headlines.

In fact, it was something never seen before on a professional match court – a ‘tweener’ underarm serve:

Nick Kyrgios first set included an under arm between the legs serve. Bananas.

Man, if only this guy cared more. pic.twitter.com/RmXjMWhV62

— Bruce Daisley (@brucedaisley) January 18, 2022

Nick Kyrgios with a sensational between-the-legs serve 🤯#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/H5T4cM0aKu

— Oddspedia ⚽️🏀🎾🥊 (@oddspedia) January 18, 2022

The Ozzie was clearly in a good mood and also whipped out the trademark CR7 celebration and sipped from a fan’s beer:

Nick Kyrgios’ first round match at the Australian Open:

Underarm tweener serve 😳
Hit the Ronaldo SIUU ⚽️
Drank a fan’s beer 🍺

Absolute box office. pic.twitter.com/s7iAzPJljC

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) January 18, 2022

Not bad for a guy who was recovering from COVID-19 last week.

He may have joined in the CR7 fun but he wasn’t complimentary of the crowd. Here’s the New York Post:

…the audience was celebrating Kyrgios’ success with a “sluuu” chant that was meant to mimic soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo’s familiar cheer.

“Yeah, it’s just a stupid, f–k, I can’t believe they did it so much,” Kyrgios said.

“They were doing some Ronaldo thing. Ronaldo does it every time he scores. It’s like — I thought they were going to do it for like 10 minutes. They did it for two-and-a-half hours, like every point.”

Despite being encouraged by the crowd, Broady didn’t join in the underhand serve fun:

Crowd calls out to Broady to serve an underarm to Kyrgios. Gorgeous smiles pic.twitter.com/2FdCj8eSci

— Nick Kyrgios’s Coach (@ReidCoaching) January 18, 2022

He later said the Ozzie made him feel “stupid” with the shots he hits, adding that he didn’t think it was personal or malicious.

Kyrgios may have coasted through this match but a tougher test awaits.

He will face second seed (and now tournament favourite after you know who was sent home) Daniil Medvedev in the next round.

[source:nypost]