Nick Kyrgios got his mixed doubles campaign at the Australian Open off to a strong start alongside Leylah Fernandez.
Kyrgios crashed out of the men’s doubles competition with Thanasi Kokkinakis, but emerged victorious with Fernandez against Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk to reach round two of the event.
The duo, both former Grand Slam singles finalists, came back from a set down to win 6-7, 6-4, 12-10.
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In the third set tiebreak, Kyrgios and Fernandez were staring down the barrel of a defeat, but they fought their way back into the contest.
In their post-match press conference, the Canadian WTA star revealed her partner provided some inspirational advice to spark the comeback.
Leylah Fernandez and Nick Kyrgios react to their victory
Recalling the shootout, Fernandez said to Kyrgios: “Yeah, 9-8. Sorry, 9-8 you told me, You’re made for this moment.
“I just started believing. I’m like, yeah, I am. It was just a lot of fun. Nick brought the great energy, and also the crowd.”
Kyrgios then added: “Yeah, I mean, look, like, I have played a lot of matches at the AO, and I guess at this part of my career, I don’t take any match for granted, even if it’s doubles like last night or mixed. That was some of the craziest energy that I’ve had.
“I mean, like, I have obviously played some amazing matches at AO, but that’s got to be one of my favourite ones.
“Like, 9-6 down, 7-3, obviously we’re thinking, realistically, tennis players, you don’t always believe you can come back. But I was like, Look, if we’re just one at a time, maybe we can do it.
“Yeah, and the crowd just, yeah, they were amazing all day, all night. They stayed, hung around. It was amazing. I’m really excited for our next round.”
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Leylah Fernandez comments on the Australian Open crowd
Reacting to the atmosphere at Melbourne Park, Fernandez said: “It was a lot of fun.
“My goodness, I keep hearing how the crowd here in the AO is very rowdy, it’s a party, and, you know, finally I have the chance to experience it, and I also get the chance to kind of compare it to the US Open.
“It’s just very electric. I love this crowd, I love how rowdy they got and how motivating they brought me. I was just excited to play the next point.
“I totally forgot the score sometimes and just enjoyed my time with them.”
Fernandez and Kyrgios are wildcards at the mixed doubles event, and could potentially face seventh seeds Olivia Nicholls and Henry Patten next.
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