- Jacob Fearley faces Nick Kyrgios in the first round of the Australian Open
- The 23-year-old has played just five tour-level matches after recently graduating from university
- This year’s Australian Open is Kyrgios’ first Grand Slam since the 2022 US Open
Jacob Fearnley admits he is looking forward with some trepidation to the dubious pleasure of being the straight man to Nick Kyrgios’s joker.
The 23-year-old Scot will face the great disruptor in Monday’s night session match on the raucous John Cain arena, not before 8am UK time. It will be quite the way to make his Australian Open debut.
‘It was a bit of anxiety, for sure,’ he said of his reaction to the draw. ‘It’s not the kind of match you want to see in Australia. I know the crowd’s going to be against me.
‘There was a lot of excitement, because it’s not a common match, but also a bit of nervousness.
‘The best thing I can do is enjoy it and embrace it. I’m still pretty early in my career. To have an opportunity and an experience like this is really cool.’
This will be only Fearnley’s sixth tour-level match and it is fair to say he has encountered nothing on the Challenger circuit which will remotely compare to what awaits. But he does have other experience on which to draw: Fearnley cut his teeth in the wild west of US college tennis and he hopes that will stand him in good stead.
Jacob Fearnley will make his Australian Open debut in just his fifth-tour level career match
Nick Kyrgios has not played in a Grand Slam since the 2022 US Open due to injury issues
Fearnley admitted he is juggling feelings of excitement and nervousness ahead of the matchup
‘It’s going to be a little bit more (lively) than college but as close as it’s going to get,’ said the world No86, a recent graduate of Texas Christian University. ‘Hopefully some of my experiences at college will help me on Monday.
‘I’ve been to some pretty hostile environments, had some nasty things thrown in my direction. You just kind of have to ignore it and move on.’
Kyrgios is a polarising figure but Fearnley believes he plays an important role in the game.
‘I’m a huge fan,’ he said. ‘There’s some people out there that don’t agree with the stuff he does but I think it’s great for the sport. He increases viewership. He puts people in seats.
‘And aside from what he is like outside the court, on the court he does some incredible things.’
He does indeed, but this is the 29-year-old Aussie’s first Grand Slam since the 2022 US Open and he is recovering from an abdominal injury. Kyrgios’ game will be as rusty as Fearnley’s is polished after an incredible year in which he rose from 650th in the rankings.
The Brit has a serious chance of an upset but to do so he must face down not just Kyrgios but 10,000 beery locals.
