Nick Kyrgios

With a first-up Hopman Cup singles victory under his belt, Nick Kyrgios wasted no time in focusing on his next challenge – the clash with world no.2 Andy Murray tomorrow.

Kyrgios was all business in an impressive three-set victory over towering German teen Alexander Zverev to give his Australia Green team an unassailable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three rubber, winning over the Perth Arena fans in the process.

“It’s always good to start the year with a win,” said Kyrgios, who acknowledged feeling a good “vibe” from the fans.

“We had a lot of fun moments; this (Perth Arena) is one of my favourite stadiums,” said the 20-year-old.

“In the first set I played a couple of loose points and knew that I had to stay calm,” said Kyrgios of facing the 198cm German whose first served rarely dipped below 200 km/h.

“I really like the kid; he’s got a great future ahead of him. He’s a great athlete for his size, moves well, serves big.”

Kyrgios quipped after his victory in 1 hour 23 minutes in 35C that had he known it was going to be so hot he “would have thought twice about coming” to Perth.

But the reality is with three guaranteed singles matches – including the clash with Murray – it’s the ideal platform for Kyrgios to prepare for the Australian Open.

“I’ve been looking forward to playing Andy for a long time and I’m going to do everything I can to physically prepare for this.”

In four meetings – the US Open, Australian Open, French Open and Canadian Masters – Kyrgios has yet to defeat the Scot.

Earlier in the day, Daria Gavrilova defeated Sabine Lisicki 6-2 6-2 to get Australia Green off to a winning start.

The Australia Green team made it a clean sweep as Gavrilova and Kyrgios claimed the mixed doubles 6-3 4-6 10-7. France (Caroline Garcia and Kenny de Schepper) is the other pair in Group B.

Group A is composed of Australia Gold, Czech Republic, Ukraine and the US.

On Saturday, the world’s best players swapped tennis wear and shoes for dresses, heels and suits as they attended the Hopman Cup VIP Player Party at the Crown Perth ballroom.

World no.1 Serena Williams and her 26th-ranked USA team-mate Jack Sock were among the stars who attended the glamorous evening.

Murray, who is partnered by Heather Watson for Great Britain, was another popular guest at the special evening along with Lleyton Hewitt and Jarmila Gajdo-sova  (Australia Gold).

Hewitt, contesting his last Australian summer as a pro, was honoured in a special ceremony.

Other result: Australia Gold vs Czech Republic 0-3.

Playing today: Ukraine vs US; Great Britain vs France.