Nick Kyrgios clinched his maiden tour title on home soil in a big confidence boost ahead of the Australian Open tennis, beating Ryan Harrison 6-4 6-2 in the Brisbane International final on Sunday.
Carrying a niggling knee injury, Kyrgios made a rusty start and was forced to save five break points before he carved out his first break in the seventh game.
(Read | Sydney International tennis: Jelena Ostapenko loses, Kristina Mladenovic feels the heat)
The 22-year-old claimed the first set before taking control of the match after his American opponent dropped his serve at the start of the second set with a frustrating double fault.
(Read | Julia Goerges withdraws from Sydney International tennis with injury)
Kyrgios, ranked 21 in the world, broke big-serving Harrison again in a sublime second set display to close out the match and seal his fourth career title.
Deep runs at grand slam events have eluded Kyrgios but a strong start to the season, including a semi-final victory over world number three Grigor Dimitrov, should put him among the early contenders for the first grand slam of the year.
{{/usCountry}}Deep runs at grand slam events have eluded Kyrgios but a strong start to the season, including a semi-final victory over world number three Grigor Dimitrov, should put him among the early contenders for the first grand slam of the year.
{{/usCountry}}The tournament begins at Melbourne Park on Jan. 15.