Refreshed Nick Kyrgios breezes past Sebastian Baez in windy Indian Wells encounter

WATCH: Kyrgios struck a smooth 12 aces to navigate tricky conditions against Baez on Thursday.

Panic suddenly struck Nick Kyrgios. Riding in the golf cart en route to his first match at the BNP Parbias Open, the Aussie was unbothered by the windy conditions that had plagued his colleagues throughout Thursday’s order of play, nor was he worried with his forthcoming opponent, a plucky Argentine by the name of Sebastian Baez.

In what was a thoroughly millennial moment, Krygios had misplaced his phone and began rustling through his many bags in an effort to find it. Once it was back in his possession, he snapped a video of himself, smiling at the camera crew who’d caught the entire ordeal.

That moment would prove to be one of his most stressful of the evening as he opened the night session against Baez, breezing past the 21-year-old, 6-4, 6-0 and continued displaying a lighter side after the match, writing “Be Positive” on the camera lens after nabbing just his second singles win of the season.

“Every time I play a match now, I don’t take it for granted,” he said on court, phone safely in hand. “I was out for a fair chunk of the last couple years, and there’ve of course been a couple world issues that hit, so I don’t take anything for granted playing on this beautiful stadium at this beautiful event.

“I’m just in a different mindset. I kind of feel like I’m a bit younger mentally, I feel fresh again, and obviously I’m healthy again with my left knee. I feel like I’m playing some pretty good tennis.”

Doubles has already been an unequivocal success for Kyrgios, who rode a wave mixed with brotherly love and national pride to win his first major title at the Australian Open with countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis. For his many struggles with health—both physical and mental—and motivation, the 26-year-old had seemingly found his calling in the more collegial team format.

“We had a conversation in the locker room where everyone’s calling us doubles players,” he joked. “Honestly, we just vibe. We go out there and we might lose, 6-0, 6-0 or we might win the event. That’s the type of doubles we play. We love to have fun and I love the kid. He’s been through some dark times and has shown some serious resilience. It’s good to see him back and around. We got each other; we can hang out and we’re there for each other, as well.”

Kyrgios showed, however, that he still has plenty to say on the singles court after dismissing Baez, who arrived at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden at a career-high ranking and fresh off his first ATP final—the culmination of a 2021 season spent dominating the ATP Challenger circuit and winning six titles out of nine finals.

“[Baez] is No. 60 in the world for a reason; he’s played some good tennis the last couple months and he’s obviously feeling very confident.”

If the 5’7” Baez is the personification of hard work, Kygrios is undeniably raw talent, one who has openly struggled with demons—sharing some dark moments of his own on Instagram late last month—but one who can still elicit gasps from an enrapt audience as he aims to rebuild his ranking thanks to a main draw wild card. He struck a smooth 12 aces and didn’t drop serve throughout the 72-minute encounter, standing strong through a tense final game to edge over the finish line having won the final seven games of the match.

Despite the lack of match play, Kyrgios can put quality over quantity, proudly citing his four-set battle with world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in Melbourne.

“I thought I put in some great performances at the Australian Open, went toe-to-toe with the best player in the world and had chances. Honestly, I feel good, and I’ll just enjoy some doubles tomorrow with Thanasi and just vibe. I’m even excited for dinner tonight; I take nothing for granted.”

Kyrgios ended the interview with a jovial “Take it easy” as he exited Center Court. Set to play No. 32 seed Federico Delbonis in his next round, he summed up his state of mind better any pundit: confident, healthy, and uninhibited, he could vibe his way to a big result in the California desert.