Impressive Fearnley sinks Kyrgios on Australian Open debut

Jacob Fearnley is into the Australian Open second round on event debut after producing a composed first-round performance against Nick Kyrgios on Monday evening at Melbourne Park.

The No. 92 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fearnley prevailed 7-6(3), 6-3, 7-6(2) in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. Kyrgios, who was making his first Australian Open appearance since 2022, twice called for the physio in the second set because of an abdominal injury, and he was ultimately unable to overcome an opponent playing with great confidence after a standout 12 months.

“I was extremely nervous before the match. I didn’t get too much sleep,” Fearnley told John McEnroe in his on-court interview. “I knew it was going to be a rowdy match, and I thought I played good. I’m sorry for Nick. I could tell he was dealing with some stuff, but it was a great match, and I really enjoyed playing in front of [the crowd].”

_{^{Nick Kyrgios in action against Jacob Fearnley on Monday in Melbourne. Photo Credit: Kelly Defina/Getty Images}}

Kyrgios appeared to start struggling physically from late in the opening set, although he continued to compete well until the tie-break. It was then that Fearnley, who remained composed and struck the ball impressively from the baseline throughout, took charge by winning six straight points from 0/1.

The 23-year-old Briton soon wrapped up the opening set before earning a decisive break of serve in the second game of the second set. The home crowd did its best to rouse Kyrgios, and they were rewarded when he reeled off three consecutive games from 1-3 down in the third set. Yet the former World No. 13 was unable to build on that streak in the subsequent tie-break, when Fearnley sealed his win in two hours, 19 minutes.

Competing against one of the great servers on the ATP Tour, Fearnley’s own delivery excelled inside John Cain Arena: He won 81 per cent (55/68) of points behind first serves, according to Infosys Stats, and also struck 17 aces to Kyrgios' 13.

Monday’s success against Kyrgios was just Fearnley’s third tour-level victory, following first-round triumphs at Wimbledon (where he also pushed Novak Djokovic to four sets in the second round) and in Stockholm in 2024. The Scot has risen quickly up the PIF ATP Rankings since finishing a four-and-a-half-year stint at Texas Christian University. He began 2024 as the World No. 646, before lifting four ATP Challenger Tour trophies on the way to a career-high No. 86 earlier this month.

“All things considered, I think it’s probably the best match I ever played,” said Fearnley of his victory against Kyrgios. “I’ve never experienced anything like this, but I definitely had some heckles thrown my way over four-and-a-half seasons at TCU. That definitely helped, but I think that an experience like this will help me going forward for sure.”

The next test for Fearnley in Melbourne will be a second-round meeting with Arthur Cazaux. The Frenchman earlier rallied to a 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 win against 28th seed Sebastian Baez.