MELBOURNE: Nick Kyrgios’s new-found calm remained intact despite a night of bizarre distractions as the fiery home favourite outplayed Serbia’s Viktor Troicki to reach the Australian Open third round without conceding a set on Wednesday. The 17th seed dealt with a heckling spectator, a malfunctioning umpire’s microphone and was even distracted by a helicopter hovering overhead but remained in control to claim an impressive 7-5 6-4 7-6(2) victory. A year after the 22-year-old was jeered by home fans after surrendering a two-set lead against Italian Andreas Seppi to crash out in the second round, he produced more evidence that a run deep into the second week is possible. His idol, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2008 Australian Open runner-up, is next up for Kyrgios who is trying to become the first home men’s champion since Mark Edmondson in 1976. The 31-year-old Troicki provided a useful gauge of Kyrgios’s form and fitness, but it was the Australian’s relative calmness in the face of chaos that stood out. Published in Daily Times, January 18th 2018.