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Normally, when the tweener makes an appearance in a non-exhibition match, it’s out of desperation and the result of a player chasing down a lob he can’t get to in time to set up for a conventional ground stroke.

Unless you’re Nick Kyrgios. Then you hit it from all kinds of angles and strange court positions when a simpler shot will do.

Pure showmanship? Or tactically valuable? It seems to work for the Aussie as he notched a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Nikolaz Basilashvili at the China Open.

It’s almost an optical illusion, with Krygios approaching the net for a standard forehand sitter, only to hit a risky tweener inside-out. Basilashvili never saw it coming.

The season has seen more than its fair share of tweeners from the 22-year-old Kyrgios' racket. Sometimes he even hits two during the same point, as he did against Alexander Zverev in Miami.

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Clearly, Kyrgios sees something in the tweener that many of his ATP tour colleagues don’t.