Jacob Fearnley has won his first ever match at the Australian Open, beating Nick Kyrgios in straight sets on John Cain Arena.
Fearnley was ranked outside the top 500 last year, before turning professional after playing college tennis and winning four ATP Challenger titles.
This Brit tasted his first experience of Grand Slam tennis at Wimbledon, after receiving a wildcard following winning the title in Nottingham.
After winning his first round match, Fearnley played Novak Djokovic and even took a set off the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
Fearnley is now ranked as world number 92 and is continuing his climb up the rankings after beating Kyrgios in Melbourne.
Jacob Fearnley gives honest view on Australian Open crowd against Nick Kyrgios
This is the first time that Kyrgios has played the Australian Open since 2022, after spending 18 months out of action with knee, foot and wrist injuries.
The former Wimbledon finalist has also recently picked up a new injury, with Kyrgios suffering an abdominal tear ahead of the tournament.
When in his post-match press conference, Fearnley spoke about what it was like to face Kyrgios in front of the Australian crowd.
“I mean, it was amazing. Honestly, it was one of the best experiences of my life I think. It was really cool,” answered Fearnley. “Obviously I was extremely nervous. It wasn’t really until I walked out there that I actually was kind of calm.
“Yeah, I mean, I think I kind of knew that I couldn’t really show any emotion because I felt that the crowd was just going to eat that alive. So I was kind of fighting to just stay composed and stay calm and not give them anything. Yeah, that’s kind of what happened.”
Kyrgios was only able to get one break in the entire match that came in the third set, and Fearnley described this as the moment when the crowd took the noise to the next level as they cheered for his opponent.
“I think it took them a while, though, to kind of get into that. Yeah, like I said, it was like 3-2 in the third set where it really changed,” explained the Scot. “It got so loud in there. It was tough, because I couldn’t even hear my coach, I couldn’t hear anything.
“That was actually probably more than I expected, to be honest. Especially in between first and second serves, it was quite difficult, to be honest.”
Jacob Fearnley reacts to it potentially being Nick Kyrgios’ last Australian Open singles match
It was clear throughout his first round match at the Australian Open that Kyrgios was struggling with his abdominal injury.
Kyrgios believes it could be his last match at the Australian Open, at least in singles competition after revealing his future plans.
This was reported to Fearnley in press, with the 23-year-old full of praise for his opponent, “Yeah, it was cool. I could tell that there was some stuff going on with him. Obviously he wasn’t serving as he usually does.
“But no, I mean, it was really cool to share the court with him. If that is his last match, I was glad I was able to play him before he went out.
“I spent a lot of time watching him as I was in college and even before college. He’s obviously a massive name, someone on the court I have 100% looked up to. So yeah, it was really a cool experience for me, 100%.”
While he may not play singles ever again at his home major, Kyrgios is still playing Australian Open doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis.
On the other hand, Fearnley will move onto his second round singles match against Frenchman Arthur Cazaux.
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