![Daniel Nolan in action at the Canberra International on Monday.](/web/20170505001429im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/e/v/g/m/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gsenmc.png/1477900244642.jpg)
Canberra International first-round winner Daniel Nolan has backed his friend Nick Kyrgios after the world No.14's recent run-in with the ATP.
Kyrgios had his eight week suspension for 'not giving his best effort' at the Shanghai Masters downgraded to three weeks on the condition he engages a sports pyschologist, and Nolan said it was hard to see his friend cop so much scrutiny.
"It is tough, especially from people who don't know him personally. He's completely different to how he's made to look," Nolan said.
"I've known Nick since I was pretty young and I've always got along really well with him."
Kyrgios, 21, is the youngest player in the men's top 20 and his ranking is expected to improve again next next week.
"He brings it on himself a little bit but there is definitely a lot of hatred towards him and I don't know if it bothers him as much as people think but he's doing really well [on the court and his ranking] at the moment," Nolan said.
As a wildcard to the ATP Challenger event in the capital, Nolan knocked out the seventh seed and fellow Australian Matthew Barton 6-3, 6-4 on Monday to progress to the second round.
"It's a really good win for me, I've had a tough time in the last four or five weeks, so it was good to get a win," Nolan said.
"I've been playing alright but I've found it tough to keep my levels constant for the whole two or three sets, but today was a good."
Former Davis Cup captain Wally Masur watched the action unfold on day one at the Canberra Tennis Centre and was impressed by Nolan's win.
"That was a good win for Daniel," Masur said.
"Matt (Barton) looked a bit low on confidence and he struggled a bit. One thing about Canberra is there is a bit of altitude here, if you're not confident coming in it's a hard place to find form if you're not striking the ball really well."
Masur was on hand to cast his eye over some of Australia's best players in action, mainly Jordan Thompson who is aiming for his third consecutive Challenger title after winning at Traralgon on Sunday.
Thompson's provisional world ranking improved to a career-best number 85 after that result, and Masur said his best tennis was still ahead.
"He's (Thompson) had a great year. He's established himself in the top 100 and won his first grand slam match this year at the French Open.
"He has separated himself from the rest of the group and his big challenge now is to take the next step and get himself up around that top 50 mark, and to be honest that probably means making the third or fourth round in a major."
World No.97 Yoshihito Nishioka from Japan was struggling with illness on Monday and was unsure if he would play his round one match against Sydney's Greg Jones on Tuesday. Play starts from 9am.
CANBERRA INTERNATIONAL
Monday: Men's singles: Rd 1: [WC] D Nolan (AUS) bt [7] M Barton (AUS) 6-3, 6-4. [Q] S De Waard (AUS) bt [WC] T Fancutt (AUS) 6-4, 6-1. O Jasika (AUS) bt C O'Connell (AUS) 6-4, 6-4.