'I've dumbfounded all of you': Nick Kyrgios savors immaculate Wimbledon performance against Filip Krajinovic

By George Ramsay, CNN

Updated 0836 GMT (1636 HKT) July 1, 2022

Kyrgios sailed through to the Wimbledon third round against Filip Krajinovic.

(CNN)Nick Kyrgios thought his first-round match was one of the worst he's ever played at Wimbledon; his performance against Filip Krajinovic two days later, however, may have been his best.

The Australian produced a serving masterclass as he swept aside Krajinovic, a beaten finalist at Queen's Club two weeks ago, in just an hour and 25 minutes on Thursday, rocketing 24 aces over the course of a 6-2 6-3 6-1 victory. It was a statement performance — and Kyrgios knew it. «I just wanted to prove to people that I'm really good,» he told reporters, «and I feel like I just don't have the respect sometimes.»Kyrgios has long proved a divisive figure in tennis — on the one hand, one of the game's great entertainers and talents; on the other, a player who garners criticism for his on-court behavior and outbursts towards umpires. Read MoreBut against Krajinovic, he let his tennis do the talking, and at times, he appeared entirely unplayable. It wasn't until the start of the second set that the Serbian took a point off Krygios' serve — something he only managed to do nine times throughout the match.Kyrgios celebrates winning match point against Krajinovic in less than 90 minutes. The on-court speed gun stopped working at one point, but it later flashed back into life in time to clock a Kyrgios serve at 135 miles per hour — eight mph short of his tournament record from 2019. Mixed in with his masterful serving were some deft touches — notably, a perfectly weighted lob that delivered his first break of the third set, sparking chants of «Aussie, Aussie, Aussie» from his golden-clad fans — and clean,