Kyrgios battles illness and mental demons at Queen's

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Nick Kyrgios

French Open champion Stan Wawrinka safely negotiated his Aegon Championships opener with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Nick Kyrgios at Queen's Club on Monday. 

Following a memorable triumph over Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, Wawrinka began his warm-up for Wimbledon with a routine 49-minute win on the grass in London. 

Kyrgios - who reached the third round in Paris - appeared to be struggling for fitness, although his on-court mutterings failed to put off the Swiss, who set up a second-round meeting with Kevin Anderson.

The pair wasted little time early on, racing through the opening seven games - all of which went with serve - despite Wawrinka getting the match under way with a double fault.

Kyrgios' flamboyant playing style was on show in the opening stages when Wawrinka misjudged a forehand that was set to clear the baseline, only for Kyrgios to try and angle a return that went long.

The Australian also complained of being "cooked" and hinted at breathlessness before failing to chase down a Wawrinka backhand as the Swiss broke, going on to claim a loose ball and power a cross-court forehand to seal the set.

Having moved ahead following a rapid 21-minute opening set, Wawrinka continued to apply pressure on Kyrgios and broke in the third game when the 20-year-old double-faulted.

Wawrinka continued to pepper his opponent with powerful aces, with limited resistance coming in the fifth game as the second seed fought from 40-15 down to hold.

While Kyrgios offered occasional glimpses of his quality, Wawrinka remained a cut above and sealed victory with his ninth ace of the match.

Meanwhile, in round two of the Gerry Weber Open, Bernard Tomic was beaten in straight sets by Steve Johnson.

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