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Nick Kyrgios wins ATP title in Australia for first time

By Harry Floyd

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 07: Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Ryan Harrison of the USA hold the winners trophy after the Men's Final match against during day eight of the 2018 Brisbane International at Pat Rafter Arena on January 7, 2018 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 07: Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Ryan Harrison of the USA hold the winners trophy after the Men's Final match against during day eight of the 2018 Brisbane International at Pat Rafter Arena on January 7, 2018 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images) /
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Nick Kyrgios has kicked off his 2018 ATP World Tour with a tournament win. He also wins a title in his home country of Australia for the first time.

Nick Kyrgios wins the 2018 Brisbane International in his home country of Australia.

It is the first time that the young Australian has tasted glory on his home soil. Kyrgios reaches the finals in Brisbane, going face to face with young American Ryan Harrison. The American was fresh off of a win over Australian Alex De Minaur. Kyrgios, however, rose to the occasion for the win.

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The Australian wins the finals meeting in straight sets. Winning with ease, he takes the match over Harrison 6-4, 6-2.

Nick Kyrgios upset top seed Grigor Dimitrov to reach the Brisbane finals.

The title makes it four now throughout the young career of Kyrgios. He is always an interesting player to watch. Kyrgios has fantastic athletic ability on the court and, if he is determined to win, can compete against anyone on tour. It is just a matter of which Kyrgios you will get when he steps onto the court. It appears though, that the Australian is looking for a strong start to the 2018 ATP World Tour.

The furthest that Kyrgios has reached at the upcoming Australian Open is the quarterfinals in 2015. Now, with a win at Brisbane, he has plenty of momentum heading into the Grand Slam event. He entered the ATP World Tour as the world No. 21 in men’s singles tennis and should see a rise in there rankings this coming week. His semifinals win over Dimitrov is also a much needed boost as the Bulgarian is the current world No. 3 and ATP Finals champion.

Next: Top 10: Men's Singles Tennis

"“There was pressure on me today because I was the favorite and most people expected me to win, so I was proud of the way I handled that expectation and pressure.” – Nick Kyrgios in post-match interview on court"

As for the runner-up, Harrison can take plenty away from his time in Brisbane. He enters the 2018 ATP World Tour within the top 50 and his reaching the finals will do wonders for him in the coming weeks. Harrison has reached as high as the No. 40 ranking in men’s singles tennis. At 25-years-old, the young American is part of a rising generation of US men’s tennis stars. Last year, he reached the second round of play at the Australian Open. Stay tuned to see how Nick Kyrgios and others fare in the coming weeks and check back for updates on all of the action at Melbourne Park later this month.

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