Nick Kyrgios has refocused from a mid-match blip to secure a spot in the third round of the Australian Open.

The Australian men’s No.2 beat French veteran Gilles Simon 6-2 6-4 4-6 7-5 in an eventful second-round clash on Thursday night.

Kyrgios, the 23rd seed at Melbourne Park, appeared to be cruising to a comfortable win but dropped serve twice to lose the third set.

The 24-year-old Canberra native admitted he felt the match slipping before recomposing himself to close it out.

“I definitely lost my way a little bit,” he told Channel Nine.

“He’s (Simon) a tough competitor. He knows how to win matches.

“I just tried to refocus. I could have gone to a very dark place in the fourth (set) but I somehow pulled it away.”

The match would have hung in the balance if crafty Simon had managed to push it to a deciding set, Kyrgios said.

“It was a tough match,” he said.

“I’m just happy to get through. That would have been very interesting if it went to a fifth set.”

Kyrgios credited the raucous Melbourne Arena crowd for their support after pulling himself out of his tailspin.

“You guys are awesome,” he said.

“That’s why I usually request playing on here as long as I can because it’s such a home field.

“You guys really get behind me. I love it.”

He joins fellow Aussies John Millman and Alexis Popyrin in the last 32 of the men’s draw and will now face either 16th-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov or Sweden’s Mikael Ymer.