Jacob Fearnley decided to delete Instagram ahead of his Australian Open match against Nick Kyrgios because he was receiving lots of messages and it was distracting him.
In what will be his debut at Melbourne Park, the British tennis player is set to meet a home favorite and one of the players whose matches draw the most attention.
And since this will be Kyrgios’ first Australian Open appearance since 2022, there is no doubt that the crowd and the atmosphere will be electrifying.
“I actually deleted Instagram. I was getting a lot of messages. I wanted to try and stay as centred as possible,” Fearnley said.
Fearnley expects a hostile environment
Three years ago, Great Britain’s Liam Broady took on Kyrgios in the Australian Open first round on John Cain Arena.
Throughout the entire match, the crowd was extremely engaged and the Australian went on to complete a straight-set win.
Later, Broady said it was “an awful experience” and also claimed that he faced verbal abuse from spectators.
And Fearnley won’t be surprised if he gets the same treatment.
“I’ve been to some pretty hostile environments. Probably not as many people as are going to be watching on Monday. I’ve definitely had some nasty things thrown in my direction. You just have to ignore it and move on,” the world No. 86 said.
“I think the best thing I can do is just try to enjoy it as best as I can. Obviously focusing on myself is one thing. I understand that’s going to be very difficult to do. It’s still pretty early in my career. To have an opportunity and an experience like this is really cool.”
Leading up to the Australian Open, Fearnley made the Canberra Challenger semifinal.
On the other side, Kyrgios suffered a Brisbane first-round loss to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his first ATP singles match in 18 months.
Tennis World USA