Back playing on clay after nearly three years away from the surface, Nick Kyrgios has quickly found his feet again.
The Australian battled back from a set down on Wednesday in Houston to defeat Mackenzie McDonald before backing up on Thursday with an even better showing.
Facing the tournament's seventh-seed Tommy Paul in the round of 16, Kyrgios played with plenty of confidence as he claimed a comfortable 6-4 6-2 win.
The 26-year-old particularly showed his nerve in the second set when he saved three break points when the set was poised precariously at 3-2.
"I had to be locked in today. Knew I had to serve well. That was probably one of my better matches on clay in my career," Kyrgios said post-match.
"So I'm pretty happy with how I came out today. Put my head down and went to work."
Having fun in the sun☀️@mensclaycourt | #USClay | @NickKyrgios pic.twitter.com/olanqyBt75
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 6, 2022
Kyrgios has a good record in Houston having also made the quarter-finals at the tournament in 2018.
"You guys make me feel at home. I've always said if I didn't live in Australia, I'd live in the States," he said.
"The people are so nice here. Most of my good friends on tour are American. Jack Sock is a brother of mine. I just love playing in the States, it's great conditions here."
Kyrgios will now face Michael Mmoh in the quarter-finals later this week and also begins his men's doubles campaign in Houston on Thursday alongside Jack Sock with the duo entering the tournament as third seeds.
The Aussie revealed earlier this week his plans to return to the French Open in 2023 having not played at Roland-Garros since 2017.
Houston will, however, be his only clay tournament in 2022 with Kyrgios set to spend some time back in Australia with family after the ATP event.
