After the match,Kyrgios said he didn't need praise for taking part and was motivated to use his profile to make a difference to the bushfires ravaging parts of the nation.

"I don't really care about the praise too much. We've got the ability and the platform to do something,"he said."My home town is Canberra and we've got the most toxic air in the world at the moment,that's pretty sad. It's tough. Sorry.

"It's all going to all the families,firefighters,animals,everyone who is losing homes,losing families ... it's a real thing. It's bigger than tennis."

Although tennis seemed secondary to Kyrgios on Friday night,he played strongly in his first match of the home summer,defending patiently from the baseline to buffer his potent serve against the vastly improved German world No.35.

He took advantage of an early break to win the opening set in relatively straightforward fashion before fighting hard in the second to eventually get past Struff in the tie-breaker. With Australia in one of the toughtest ATP Cup groups,it was the ideal start as they try to progress to the finals in Sydney.