Nick Kyrgios was the marquee man, but it was a 12-year-old junior who stole the show as the Canberra Velocity got their Asia-Pacific Tennis League campaign off to a mixed start.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kyrgios backed up his surprise appearance on Friday night to play in another men's doubles win on Saturday just hours before flying to Melbourne for a Davis Cup camp.
But while Kyrgios was the main attraction, it was budding star Annerly Poulos who turned heads, with the 12-year-old claiming a win in her debut match for the Velocity.
Poulos smashed Martina Hudaly, a player eight years her senior, 4-1, 4-0 in a dominant display and an ominous sign of her potential for the future.
She is undefeated in her past 35 singles matches, including wins at the national primary school championships and the NSW titles.
Hudaly has been ranked as high as No.70 in the Australian women's list, while Poulos is poised to make her own mark.
"She's a great young player, one of the best juniors coming out of Canberra and someone to definitely look out for in the future," said teammate Jake Eames.
"She played a girl who's older and got a great result ... but to us it's not surprising because we've seen her coming through the ranks. I've got nothing but good things to say about her."
Kyrgios played in two doubles matches before leaving Canberra.
The women's Velocity team won both their series against the Sydney Saints and Sunshine Coast Breakers, while the men finished with one win and a loss.
Both teams will travel to Wollongong on Sunday, without Kyrgios, as they aim to beat the Western Sydney Warriors.
Eames finished with a mixed two days of results, losing both his singles and doubles events on Saturday in the shortened version of tennis.
"There were a couple of big points under pressure and it didn't go our way, but that's the nature of the ATL - anything can happen," Eames, 24, said.
"[The Warriors] are going to be tough on Sunday, they've got a solid line-up the whole way down. It's always tough and frustrating when things don't go your way. But we've got to deal with it.
"It was great having Nick around, he brings an incredible kind of energy to the group. We're very fortunate he threw his hand up to play a couple of doubles matches."
