Nick Kyrgios’ ‘careful’ ahead of first round Australian Open matchup
Nick Kyrgios will return to the court in a grand slam for the first time in more than two years, and isn’t taking world No. 86 Jacob Fearnley lightly. He reveals why he’s ‘careful’ of the young Scot.
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Nick Kyrgios knows he has to be “careful” about a young Brit on the rise in his first grand slam appearance for two years.
After shrugging off any injury concerns with a spirited practice session on Sunday morning, the former Wimbledon finalist has turned his attention to studying the game of world No. 86 Jacob Fearnley.
Kyrgios has been the dangerous young floater in the draw before and knows these types of matches can be a banana peel for the bigger-name players.
The 23-year-old Scotsman, who has spent time in the US college system, raised eyebrows when he took a set off Novak Djokovic at his first grand slam appearance in the second round of Wimbledon last year.
Kyrgios did some scouting on Fearnley in his hometown of Canberra when he reached the semi-finals of the Challenger event.
“He’s been knocking on the door with some pretty good results the last six to nine months,” Kyrgios said. “He’s obviously very confident. He was actually in my hometown the other week playing a challenger there. I saw him there.
“He’s extremely confident. You’ve got to be careful with these guys. I know players like me, we do have a target on our back and these guys go out there trying to play their best tennis.
“I’ve experienced that, when guys go out there confident on their debut, they tend to play a bit higher and better than their actual base level. I’m not underestimating anyone in this event.
“Me personally, I haven’t played many tennis matches. I’m still trying to find my feet as well. At the same time I’ll do my research and be well aware of what he does well.
“He’s obviously been in pretty good form, too. Pretty sure he made things pretty challenging for Novak at Wimbledon. Anyone who can do that on such a big stage has that X factor there.”
Fearnley knows taking on Kyrgios on John Cain Arena where he whips the local fans into a frenzy is one of the toughest challenges in the sport.
He has deleted his Instagram account in a bid to try and shut out the noise.
“It’s not a match you want to see in Australia,” Fearnley said. “I know that the crowd’s going to be against me. Obviously there was a lot of excitement, as well, (about the draw) because it’s not a common match.
“I’ve been to some pretty hostile environments but probably not as many people as are going to be watching on Monday. I’ve definitely had some nasty things thrown in my direction. You just have to ignore it and move on.
“I think the best thing I can do is just try to enjoy it as best as I can. Obviously focusing on myself is one thing. I understand that’s going to be very difficult to do. It’s still pretty early in my career. To have an opportunity and an experience like this is really cool.”
While Kyrgios – whose last grand slam appearance was in the quarter-finals of the 2022 US Open – can divide opinion, his first-round opponent is an admirer.
“I’m a huge fan,” Fearnley said. “I’ve always said to my friends that I’m a big fan. There’s some people out there that don’t agree with the stuff he does. But I think it’s great for the sport. He increases viewership. He puts people in seats.
“You can’t really take anything away from him on that front. Obviously what he does on the tennis court is pretty incredible, as well. I think that’s great for the sport.”
Kyrgios appeared to wave off any pre-tournament fitness concerns after getting through the practice session which included serving.
When asked by waiting fans how his abs were feeling Kyrgios responded: “it’s OK” after he and young gun Cruz Hewitt traded a number of forehands and backhands in front of a packed crowd on court 16.
In a massive day for the Aussies with 11 in action including Krygios’ doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis who is racing the clock to recover from a shoulder injury in time to take on Roman Safiullin.
Jordan Thompson, the 27th seed, starts his campaign against German qualifier Dominik Koepfer with James Duckworth (v Dominic Stricker), Christopher O’Connell (12th seed Tommy Paul), and wildcards Tristan Schoolkate (Taro Daniel) and James McCabe (Martin Landauluce), in action.
Australia’s former top female Ajla Tomljanovic (Ashlyn Krueger) makes her comeback from injury with qualifier Destanee Aiava (Greet Minnen) and wildcards, Talia Gibson (Zeynep Sonmez) and Maya Joint (Jessica Pegula), stepping out on day two.
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