Nick Kyrgios delights Australian Open crowd with five-set victory

Australian number one Nick Kyrgios booked his place in the second round of his home Grand Slam with a hard-fought five-set victory over Federico Delbonis on day one of the Australian Open.

© Getty Images

The 19-year-old, whose match was the last on court on Monday in Melbourne, now joins five other Aussie men in the next stage, including 18-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis, who stunned 11th seed Ernests Gulbis.

Kyrgios took the first set 7-2 in a tie-break on Margaret Court Arena before the pair traded 6-3 scorelines in the second and third.

There would be another breaker in the fourth, but this time world number 62 Delbonis triumphed 7-5 to force a decider.

Spurred on by the buoyant crowd as the clock ticked towards midnight, Kyrgios made a crucial break midway through the fifth before serving it out 6-3.

The world number 53 will next face big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic on Wednesday.