Nick Kyrgios, the perfect player for the old Grandstand, scores mostly drama-free win

NEW YORK—If Day 1 at the U.S. Open was for the new Grandstand, with a pair of extended matches opening the 8,000-seat stadium court (see: Wozniacki vs. Townsend and Isner vs. Tiafoe), Day 2 was a reminder that the charming original can still deliver its signature style of entertainment. Samantha Stour and Camila Giorgi went the distance; Bernard Tomic went too far. And Nick Kyrgios showed everyone who meandered through the cramped walkways on the west side of the grounds why he may be the perfect player for the doomed old court.

It took the 21-year-old less than one game to do so. During the warm-up, Kyrgios was already engaging with fans, some seated less than a foot away from the players depending on their court position. When his opponent, 77th-ranked Aljaz Bedene, saved a break point a few minutes into the match with a well-placed shot, Kyrgios told him so—“Nice shot.”

But Kyrgios wasn’t as nice after an overturned out call (in his favor). It would have given him a match-opening break of serve, but forced to replay the point, Kyrgios smacked a stray ball against the wall and very nearly struck a linesman. “All I did was hit a forehand,” an incredulous Kyrgios shot back at the chair umpire. “You’re giving me a warning for hitting the ball too hard—look at the dimensions of this court.”

For many fans, this exchange already gave them their money’s worth. But the intimate confines of the Grandstand offer an up-close view of Kyrgios’ scintillating and explosive game that few will see again—should he ever make good on his immense talent. He’s capable of blistering the ball through the court with the fundamental strokes—serve, forehand and backhand—and did just that en route to an early 4-0 advantage. The 6’4” Aussie towered over Bedene in every way, even forcing the Brit to deuce from 0-40 down when returning serve.

It was a small victory when Bedene held that game to get on the board, but there was legitimate concern when Kyrgios called for the trainer with a hip problem, and took a roughly 10-minute injury break after the first set.

“It’s fine at the moment, which is really good” said Kyrgios after the match. “I was nursing a little bit of an injury, and I how I responded was really well. I'm really happy. I thought I played solid, returned well, served well, hit the ball well. That was a pretty good all-around performance.”

The interruption of Kyrgios’ flawless run gave Bedene, who makes up for a lack of power with fluid strokes and the timing of an atomic clock, a sense of belief. When he held for 3-4 in the second set with a crisp down-the-line backhand, Kyrgios told him so. “That’s scary,” he said.

But Bedene was unable to truly threaten Kyrgios, whose focus exceeded his antics on this night. The No. 14 seed wasn’t broken in the second or third sets; the only person who was able to rattle him was the chair umpire. After a let call negated a Kyrgios ace in the match’s final game, the crowd favorite returned to his roots. “What are you doing? What are you doing?” Kyrgios exclaimed after the let call.

And after game, set and match was called, Kyrgios offered this parting shot: “You have one job! You have one job!”

Krygios might be the perfect player for the old Grandstand, but I didn’t say he’s the nicest.