The Australian produced a serving masterclass when he swept aside Krajinovic, a defeated finalist at Queen’s Club two weeks ago, in just an hour and 25 minutes on Thursday, taking 24 aces over the course of a 6-2 6-3 6-1 win. .
It was a statement performance — and Kyrgios knew it.
“I just wanted to prove to people that I’m really good,” he told reporters, “and I feel like sometimes I just don’t have the respect.”
But against Krajinovic he let his tennis speak and at times seemed completely unplayable.
It wasn’t until the start of the second set that the Serb took a point from Krygios’ serve – something he managed to do just nine times during the match.
The speed gun on the field stopped working at one point, but it later revived in time to clock a Kyrgios service at 135 miles per hour – eight mph less than his 2019 tournament record.
Mixed in with his masterful serve were some deft touches – most notably a perfectly weighted lob delivering his first break of the third set, leading to chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” from his gold-clad fans – and clean, accurate hitting from the baseline.
“I really wanted to go out today to remind everyone that I can play tennis really well without any distractions,” Kyrgios said. “The public enjoyed it today and it was just business.”
When asked about that incident after Thursday’s game, Kyrgios was optimistic. “I played against Filip Krajinovic today. Don’t you want to know how I played?” he shot back.
During the press conference after the game, Kyrgios took on the media several times.
“There was just nothing the media could tell me that I did wrong today,” he said, reflecting on his performance.
“All I know is that you can’t possibly ask me anything or stir anything up. I love it because you can’t write anything. What are you going to say? Nothing today. I’ve knocked you all dumb.’
Some of his shots against Krajinovic were indeed breathtakingly good. He racked up 50 winners in the match, including a knocked back backhand to seal the win.
That made for a very exciting third-round clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas after the fourth seed in the series against Jordan Thompson.
A deep run at Wimbledon feels too late for Kyrgios. His best result here remains a quarter-final appearance in 2014, when he made his tournament debut at the age of 19, beating the then world number one. 1 Rafael Nadal.
On Thursday, Kyrgios withdrew from the men’s doubles event to give himself plenty of opportunity to recover – “I’m a singles player, my priority has always been singles,” he explained – and said in his on-field interview that Wimbledon would love this year is ‘circled in my calendar almost all year round’.
“It’s generally a tournament where I think it’s my best shot at winning a grand slam from all four,” Kyrgios added.
He told Wide World of Sports that at one point in his life he felt “worthless” and deeply affected by social media abuse. However, he added that the Covid-19 pandemic has helped him improve his mental health, and at Wimbledon Kyrgios said he is embracing a more positive frame of mind.
“I just feel like I’m comfortable in my own skin. Some people like to just knock me down, but it’s just not possible anymore,” he said.
Play as he did on Thursday, and it will not be impossible for anyone to take down Kyrgios on the pitch as well, such was his supremacy against Krajinovic.
“I’m very confident in myself, all the challenges I’ve overcome in my life,” he said.
“I’m proud to be here and to do it my way. To be able to produce tennis like this at Wimbledon is a dream come true for any tennis player.”
