Kyrgios, de Minaur kick off ATP Cup with hot shots

Friday marked Day 1 of the 2020 ATP season, as well as the start of the inaugural ATP Cup team competition—and it did not disappoint.

Hot shots defined the star-studded opening day, and as many expected, the tie in Brisbane between Australia and Germany brought some of the brightest moments.

Nick Kyrgios got the green and gold off on the right foot with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Jan-Lennard Struff. He sealed the victory with an ace, his 20th of the match. And it was an extra-special moment considering that, before the tournament, he pledged to donate 200 Australian dollars for each ace he hits to help victims of the Australian bushfires.

In the second singles match, Alex de Minaur clinched the win for Australia, upsetting Alexander Zverev, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Along the way, he hit what'll certainly go down as one of the best shots of the event: When Zverev from point-blank hit what should have been a surefire backhand putaway, de Minaur scissor-leaped into an airborne crosscourt forehand pass:

Kyrgios, too, was very into the de Minaur match—he even went so far as celebrating Zverev's double faults with sets of push-ups.

Over in Sydney, in Belgium's 3-0 defeat of Moldova, Steve Darcis secured the first set versus No. 818 Alexander Cozbinov with the Hot Shot of the Day, an around-the-post sliding forehand. Much like with de Minaur's shot, Darcis was lucky he was even able to get to the ball:

Ahead of a new tournament like this one, there's always skepticism over whether such a bold, untested concept will even work. Day 1 of the ATP Cup showed that, once the players are on court, the tennis speaks for itself.