Nick Kyrgios and Venus Williams' blockbuster mixed doubles partnership got off to a winning start at Wimbledon with a three-set victory over US duo Austin Krajicek and Sabrina Santamaria.

The wildcards will play fourth seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Nicole Melichar next.

"I felt a bit of pressure playing with Venus," said Kyrgios.

"I just wanted to, not put on a good showing or anything, I really wanted to win. I've never really wanted to win a mixed doubles or a doubles match that much before. I was really trying hard.

"It was just a lot of fun. She's iconic to the sport and she's an absolute legend. She'll go down as one of the greatest players ever to pick up a racquet when it's all said and done."

The pair were greeted by huge cheers when they walked out on to court two and their much-anticipated pairing did not disappoint.

The first two sets were good-natured and fun, with laughs almost outnumbering the cheers at times.

Not many people would get away with calling seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams "V" but that is what Kyrgios did between points.

Kyrgios berated himself in the second set for his serving not being up to scratch and with a third-round singles match to come on Saturday, he was probably not that happy to be taken into a deciding set.

The mood changed in the third, with Kyrgios annoyed over a line call. One fan yelled "It's not worth it, Nick" as the Australian protested bitterly that he had not seen the hand signal of the line judge.

He grew even more frustrated, launching into an expletive-filled rant at the chair umpire after he and Williams had their serve broken, earning himself a code violation in the process.

They broke straight back, before going on to wrap up the win with another break.

"We're very different," Kyrgios added. "I think she's quite timid and very quiet. I'm a bit, you know, bashful and loud, and talkative. At least we made it work.

"We came through, we were down a break, and that's when, you know, the umpire kind of revved me up a little bit. I was very frustrated.

"I thought we would be hard done by that decision, so that's when I kind of put it into fifth gear and really tried to push us over the line."

Kyrgios plays in the men's singles third round on Saturday against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime but American Williams is out of the women's.