Talking points from day one at the Australian Open

BY HIS own reckoning, Aussie tennis brat Nick Kyrgios should be suspended until 2025 for an incident on an outside court at the Australian Open.

Kyrgios’ Open campaign didn’t get off to the best start.

DAY one at the Australian Open provided entertainment aplenty.

Bernard Tomic looked solid as he cruised past Thomaz Bellucci in three sets, but his early afternoon effort was soon overshadowed by some teenage rookies from Australia. Seventeen-year-old Alex De Minaur beat Gerald Melzer in five sets and his countrywoman Jaimee Fourlis also won through to the second round, upsetting Anna Tatishvili.

Nick Kyrgios was outstanding as he crushed Gastao Elias in straight sets and Roger Federer gave the crowd what it was after with a tough four-set win over Jurgen Melzer.

Here are the talking points from the opening day at Melbourne Park.

KYRGIOS TAKES OUT STUNNED SPECTATOR

Kyrgios doesn't have a reputation for practising too hard.

By his own definition Nick Kyrgios should be suspended until 2025 for an incident where he hit a spectator in the head with a deliberate skyward bomb.

The 21-year-old was practising on a crowded Court 11 at Melbourne Park ahead of his first round match at Hisense Arena against Gastao Elias on Monday night when his lighthearted training session had a brief, scary moment for one fan.

In the middle of some lighthearted games with his hitting partner and conditioning coach, Kyrgios picked up a ball after some loose warm-up shots and bashed a swooping forehand as high as he could into the air.

Watched on by a huge crowd jammed along the fence of his outside court, the ball came down and hit a young Melbourne girl in the head.

The crowd issued a collective grimace and “ooh” in feeling the young fan’s pain. She told news.com.au she was not hurt by the ball hitting her on the top of her head, but was left surprised and embarrassed after becoming the focal point for the large crowd.

Kyrgios was criticised by some spectators around the court for failing to check to see if the young girl was harmed by the head shot. He was in the middle of his practice session.

It comes after Kyrgios took a shot at the ATP Tour and World No. 2 Novak Djokovic earlier this month over a code of conduct warning issued to the Serbian. Kyrgios hinted double standards were at play on the ATP Tour when Djokovic threw his racquet in anger and hit a spectator at the Qatar event and escaped with a warning.

I would've been defaulted and suspended until 2025 😂 https://t.co/HsIoG9IOAL

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 8, 2017

Kyrgios earlier wowed the crowd gathered at Court 11 with his lighthearted antics and games.

The crowd gathered at the practice court was so large ahead of Kyrgios’ 3.30pm booked training appearance, security guards initially advised security staff they would not be able to move the World No. 13 through the mob to reach the court entrance.

MURRAY’S QUESTIONABLE CALL

Should Murray have been able to get away with asking for the umpire’s help?

Andy Murray is well known for not always being able to keep his temper under control, and fans at Melbourne Park got a taste of the Brit at his angriest just a couple of sets into his Australian Open campaign.

Down a break in the second set of his first-round match against Illya Marchenko, he launched into a tirade directed at his player’s box. We’re used to that, but the fact he was already up one set in the match led Aussie legend John Fitzgerald to question why he was acting so strangely.

“There’s no need to lose your marbles when you’re a set up — it is bizarre behaviour, isn’t it?” Fitzgerald said. “It’s worse than normal, isn’t it?”

“After every single point Murray is talking to his player’s box, it’s extraordinary,” commentator Sam Smith added.

While the world No. 1 looked far from his dominant self, he did manage to break back and take the set to a tiebreak, which he eventually won, before going on to claim the match in straight sets. However, a controversial moment arrived in the seventh game of the second set when he challenged a line judge’s call.

Before challenging, Murray asked the umpire if he would win the point if the call was overruled, or if he would have to serve again. The umpire appeared to tell him he would win the point, so he went ahead with his challenge.

The 29-year-old’s judgment was correct, but Fitzgerald questioned the legitimacy of such a move.

“I’m not sure you can do that,” Fitzgerald said. “He asked the umpire, ‘If I win do I win the point or do I have another second serve?’ The umpire told him he’d win the point.

“How could Andy ask the central umpire if he would win the point or not? She obviously said yes. That can’t be right.”

AUSSIE ROOKIES STAR ON DAY ONE

Alex De Minaur announced himself to Australia.

One of the best things about the start of a grand slam is the chance previously unknown players get to make a name for themselves. That was certainly the case for two Aussie teenagers.

Seventeen-year-old Alex De Minaur announced himself to tennis fans in this country with a sterling five-set win over Gerald Merzer 5-7 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 on Monday, and he found himself being compared to Lleyton Hewitt, who was watching on from the stands.

The young wildcard’s court craft and guile, as much as his tenacity, caught the attention of one of Hewitt’s predecessors and mentor, ex-Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald.

“He is an impressive kid. He has the understanding of where to hit the ball, then where to move,” Fitzgerald said while commentating on the Seven Network. “He knows intuitive stuff already at a young age how to play.

“I see a little bit of a young Lleyton Hewitt and I don’t say that lightly.

“But he is beyond his years and I’m really impressed so far.”

De Minaur broke Melzer seven times and hit 50 winners in a marathon encounter that lasted three hours and 43 minutes before paying tribute to Hewitt. “It’s unbelievable to have him in my corner there, unbelievable support, he’s been really helping me out a lot,” he said.

“Obviously I watched a lot of his matches. That (fight) is something I admire from him. I was really happy that I could do that today.

“Coming through with my first five-set win, I wouldn’t have rather done it anywhere else.”

The Spain-based youngster faces a tough encounter against big-serving American No. 31 seed Sam Querrey in the second round.

Jaimee Fourlis had a great grand slam debut.

Melbourne teenager Jaimee Fourlis also impressed with a 6-4 6-3 first-round win against American Anna Tatishvili in her grand slam debut.

“I think it’s just the start of me trying to make a mark in tennis ... hopefully there will be a couple more opportunities,” Fourlis said.

“Winning your first match in a grand slam doesn’t come every day. At the moment I’m still trying to take it all in. But it’s an amazing feeling.”

The 17-year-old served for the first set at 5-1 but was forced to dig deep as the 199th-ranked American fought back.

“I’m pretty happy with how I composed myself, stayed calm, stayed in the present, and was able to finish it off,” she said.

“I tried to stay in the moment, tried to keep everything on court. There was nothing to lose ... so I think I kind of just I went out there with an open mind.”

Fourlis, who practised for three hours a day while she juggled Year 12 studies last year, faces the toughest task of her fledgling career when she meets Russian No. 8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round.

— AAP

ALMAGRO FIRES BACK

Almagro wasn’t keeping mum.

Nicolas Almagro wasn’t about to bite his tongue in the face of accusations after a disastrous day at Melbourne Park.

He played just four games in 23 minutes in his opening match against Jeremy Cardy before withdrawing with a calf complaint. Despite his early exit, he’ll still pocket $50,000 just for making it to the grand slam.

“Questions to be asked: Did he just turn up to take money?” Australia’s Todd Woodbridge asked. “Maybe it was a chance for the lucky loser to have a better opportunity than that. We’ll find out more on the entry a little later.”

Well, we did find out later, as Almagro released a statement on Monday night.

“To whom it may concern regarding my withdrawal at the Australian Open I would like to say that to be asked if I was playing for the money is something I consider tremendously offensive,” he said.

“I have been playing on the tour for 15 years, I play for pure ambition and to win. Besides which I am waiting for my first child to be born in February so I will miss several tournament on the next tours (sic).

“So it was very important for me to try to get some points and that is why I played as I have played on so many occasions — through pain.”

Almagro earlier lashed out at Woodbridge during the post-match press conference, saying he doesn’t need to play for $50,000 because he’s already a millionaire.

“I went to the court because I think I can play. I was top 10, I have more than $10 million. I’m not going to play for $50,000. It is not the reason.”