Kyrgios aces first round

Nick Kyrgios cranked down 42 aces as he opened his Wimbledon campaign with 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 6-3 win over Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin on Tuesday.

Three-time champion Rafael Nadal had a much easier first-round outing, ripping through Israel's Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 later in the evening.

The Australian showman saved two set points in the first set and was briefly rattled when 92nd-ranked Istomin grabbed the third on a tiebreak on Court 12.

Kyrgios railed against his entourage and kept up a regular dialogue with the umpire and anyone who would listen but remained focused enough to break decisively in the eighth game of the fourth set before completing victory with another ace.

The 23-year-old will face Dutchman Robin Haase or Romanian Marius Copil for a place in the third round where he could potentially face fellow Australian Bernard Tomic.

Kyrgios was in impressive form leading into the championships with strong runs in Stuttgart, where he pushed Roger Federer hard, and at Queen's Club where he served almost 100 aces in four matches before losing in the semis to Marin Cilic.

Fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro thumped down 22 aces to blow away the Wimbledon first-round challenge of Germany's Peter Gojowczyk on Tuesday and said his serve was the key to playing better on grass.

The Argentine, nearly two metres tall, appears often to be playing on a miniature court such is his reach and stride.

He used his height to great effect in a regulation victory over Gojowczyk, breaking the German's serve once in each of the first two sets and twice in the third.