Kyrgios: Inspired By Better Half

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Kyrgios: Inspired By Better Half

Nick Kyrgios credits his better half for bringing out the best in him.

The Aussie No. 1 launched his Australian Open cranking 16 aces in a commanding 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Rogerio Dutra Silva.

More: Murray Misses Melbourne Badly

The 17th-seeded Kyrgios opened the season winning the Brisbane International—his first career title on home soil—and attributes his strong start to the support of his girlfriend, Ajla Tomljanovic.

"I had my girlfriend’s company in the room so it’s been all right," Kyrgios told Roger Rasheed after his opening-round win. "It’s just good to have her back on tour. Obviously, she’s been out with injury so it’s good to have her back.

"I’m just excited to be back in Melbourne. A couple of years ago on this court I made the quarterfinals so I’m just hoping to emulate that and hopefully go a little bit further."

Nick Kyrgios

Reconciliation has been revitalizing.

Kyrgios and Tomljanovic split after Wimbledon last summer. After images of Kyrgios partying with women in a London night club emerged online, Tomljanovic deleted him from her social media.

The pair reconciled late last year.

Tomljanovic, who fell to Lucie Safarova, 7-5, 6-3, in her first major playing officially under the Australian flag, has been a calming influence on Kyrgios in the past.

"Obviously it's been good to have her back just on tour," Kyrgios said. "She was away from the game for a while, with injury. That's never easy. She's come back now. She's playing some pretty good tennis again.

"But just to have her around at these events, feels normal again. Yeah, it's good to see her back."

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

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