Nick Kyrgios tried to fire himself up by dropping an expletive while also calling Jacob Fearnley “a Challenger player” but it ultimately didn’t work out for the returning Australian.
Early in their Australian Open first-round match, the 92nd-ranked British debutant was going through his service games much easier than the big-serving Australian.
And it didn’t take long before the 2022 Wimbledon finalist – who was widely regarded as one of the best servers in the game before his two surgeries – started becoming annoyed.
“F—— serving 205(km/h) when I can serve 230(km/h),” Kyrgios was heard saying.
As the first set progressed and nothing was changing, the former world No. 13 continued to rant.
“I’ve got a f—— Challenger player serving bigger than me. It’s a lot of fun for me,” the microphones picked up the seven-time ATP champion saying.
Kyrgios went on to lose the first set and the match
When the first-set tie-break came, Fearnley routinely bagged before completing a straight-set 7-6 (3) 6-3 7-6 (2) win.
In the end, the Australian finished with 13 aces and eight double faults while the Briton had 17 aces.
Nick Kyrgios and Jacob Fearnley© Jose Morgado/X – Fair Use
Throughout the match, Kyrgios was evidently dealing with an abdominal issue.
And during one moment of frustration, he revealed that he was dealing with a Grade 1 abdominal strain and wondered why he even decided to play.
“I had a grade one before I got here,” he said. “I don’t even know why I played. So f—— dumb,” he said.
Fearnley may have heard some unpleasant comments during the match from his opponent or the crowd but there were no hard feelings on his side.
“I thought I played good. Sorry for Nick. I could tell he was dealing with some stuff but I thought it was a great match and I really enjoyed playing in front of you guys,” the world No. 92 said.
Tennis World USA