Nick Kyrgios crashes out of Australian Open in first-round loss to Jacob Fearnley

Nick Kyrgios has crashed out of the Australian Open in a discombobulated and despondent loss to Brit Jacob Fearnley.

Nick Kyrgios during his first-round loss to Briton Jacob Fearnley on Monday. Picture: Getty Images

Nick Kyrgios has crashed out of the Australian Open in a discombobulated and despondent loss to Brit Jacob Fearnley. Hampered by wrist and abdominal injuries and unable to serve properly on a turbulent night at the office, Kyrgios was defeated 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) on John Cain Arena.

He looked more likely to withdraw than win. Kyrgios has one of the biggest and best serves in tennis history but he was doing little more than rolling his arm over. There was little sign or sound of the normally raucous atmosphere generated by Kyrgios on the so-called people’s court until the final stages. Kyrgios was in the Open for a short time that wasn’t an especially good time.

He kept grimacing, wincing, shaking his head, clutching at his strained abs and hollering in frustration at his entourage. He dropped more F-bombs than service bombs, doubling over in pain after extended rallies and calling for the trainer at 1-4 in the second set.

“Too good,” he told Fearnley late in the second set in a virtual admission of defeat.

He struggled to breathe on occasions; the world no 86 gave him no room to. Capable of serving at 220km/h, he was dipping closer to 160km/h before departing with a hangdog expression.

Kyrgios broke serve for 3-3 in the third set and the mood shifted. Fearnley was getting nervous as the finish line approached. The rollercoaster was taking an unexpected turn. His errors were wildly applauded and Kyrgios held for 4-3 with an underarm serve and a routine stroke he elected to hit behind his back. He shouted to himself, “Come on, Nick! Battle!”

He held set point at 5-4 and fought to the bitter end but the revival from was short-lived and his tournament was over. Really, he never looked like winning.

“Obviously I was extremely nervous,” Fearnley said. “Didn’t get much sleep last night. I’m sorry for Nick. I could tell he was dealing with some stuff. I was expecting a rowdy match and just tried to focus on myself. I think it’s probably the best match I’ve ever played. You never really know what you’re going to get when you play Nick. It was difficult to keep my composure but I did it.”