Nick Kyrgios has made a typically lively return to tennis in a three-set comeback win over lowly-ranked Frenchman Alexandre Muller at an Australian Open warm-up event in Melbourne.

Kyrgios overcame a leg injury to reach the second round of the Murray River Open with a 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory over the world No.209 on Tuesday night.

The mercurial former dual grand slam quarter-finalist relied on a supreme serving display to pull through, cracking 22 aces in setting up an all-Australian second-round affair with Harry Bourchier.

But he also battled mental demons, with the old, cursing Kyrgios resurfacing in his first match in almost 12 months.

The 25-year-old opted to sit out much of 2020, raging against rivals and officials for pressing ahead with the season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

An unusual picture of calm during his run to the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open, where he lost a tight four-setter to Rafa Nadal, Kyrgios was less than serene against Muller.

Kyrgios claimed on Sunday he didn’t pick up a racquet for four or five months during the pandemic, saying he enjoyed the time out and didn’t really miss tennis.

And he looked less than excited for much of his comeback match.

The now-world No.47 moaned to the chair umpire about towels, berated himself, mumbled to his team about his heavily-strapped left leg and generally looked lackadaisical throughout.

But his class shone through in the end, despite Kyrgios calling for the trainer immediately after levelling the match at one set apiece.

He complained of discomfort particularly when pushing off on serve, saying it also felt unstable when landing on it and taking split steps.

The 2015 Australian Open quarter-finalist served a double-fault on his first point after taking the medical time-out, before proclaiming “not good man, not good”.

But he still won, swelling Australia’s contingent of men through to at least the second round of the Melbourne Summer Series to a dozen.