Nick Kyrgios won his first meeting against Alexander Zverev in convincing fashion and will next face either Novak Djokovic or Juan Martin del Potro at Indian Wells.

Indian Wells, CA, USA, 15 March 2017 | AAP/tennis.com.au

Nick Kyrgios has outclassed Alexander Zverev in the battle of tennis’ next-gen leaders to storm into the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters.

Kyrgios wowed fans with some audacious shot-making in a 6-3 6-4 over the German teenager who, at 19, is the youngest player in the world’s top 20.

“I think I enjoyed it. I think there were some points where everyone enjoyed it. I thought he was playing some great shots. The crowd enjoyed. You know, I was enjoying it,” Kyrgios said.

“I don’t think I served that well today, actually. I felt I wasn’t serving my best, so I thought I just competed well.

“It was always going to be a tough match. He’s been playing great tennis and on the rise ever since juniors. It was a tough battle. I’m just really glad to get through.”

Australia’s No. 15 seed broke Zverev three times while being untroubled on his own serve throughout the 72-minute encounter.

Until last week, Zverev had been the only player to beat Roger Federer in 2017 but he had to play second fiddle to Kyrgios from the outset in the much-anticipated first-time meeting between tennis’s hottest two young talents.

Kyrgios stamped his authority with breaks early in both sets.

Rarely hitting top gear, he struck six aces, won 84 per cent of first-serve points and broke Zverev for a third time to close out the match and set up a last-16 showdown with either Novak Djokovic or Juan Martin del Potro.

“It’s a tough matchup for me either way. I like time. I like to dictate. Delpo takes that away from me. Against Novak, he neutralises my serve,” Kyrgios said.

“I have to play better than both of those guys if I play them. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose. It’s nothing different.”