Nick Kyrgios’s long-awaited return to the grand slam stage proved something of a let-down as Briton Jacob Fearnley sent the ailing home hero out of the Australian Open first round in straight sets on Monday.
A capacity crowd packed out the John Cain Arena – a favourite of Kyrgios’s – for the tennis showman’s first match at Melbourne Park in three years, hoping he could shrug off an abdominal strain to battle through. Most left deflated as Kyrgios went down swinging in a 7-6(3), 6-3, 7-6(2) defeat, with the injury hampering his serve and movement.
Fearnley, however, was impressive on his debut at the year’s first grand slam as he set up a second-round match with Frenchman Arthur Cazaux. “Obviously extremely nervous before the match, I didn’t get much sleep,” Fearnley said on court. “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 with you guys. All things considered, it’s probably the best match [I’ve played].”
Having previously won only two tour-level matches and with the crowd heavily stacked against him, the world No 92 barely put a foot wrong at the so-called “People’s Court”. Fearnley was rock solid on serve and kept the crowd at bay until midway through the third set when he let a 3-1 lead slip.
Kyrgios broke Fearnley to put the game back on serve at 3-3 as the Briton tensed up and failed to convert a slew of break points. The Kyrgios party tricks came out – the hopping, backhand winners and behind-the-back shots reigniting the crowd.
The 29-year-old scrapped his way to the tie-break then promptly crumbled, giving up five match points in a flash. He saved one but bowed out with a backhand into the net, and exited the arena quickly with a single kiss blown at the crowd.
[ Djokovic and Kyrgios join forces to raise the curtain on new tennis seasonOpens in new window ]
Elsewhere, Alex Michelsen produced the biggest win of his fledgling career so far to upset 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the Australian Open, and he knew instinctively where credit was due. The 20-year-old American overcame nerves on his serve in the fourth set before clinching a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win on Monday over Tsitsipas, the No 11 seed at this year’s tournament.
Michelsen started playing tennis at the age of three and hit most days as a child with his mother, Sondra, a schoolteacher who played college tennis.
“Yeah, I’m sure she’s watching right now,” Michelsen said after the match. “Yeah, we hit a million balls from the baseline every day. We’d go like 30 minutes up the middle, then we’d go across each way for like an hour and a half. I mean we would just go out there and she would never miss a ball – she’s incredible. But no chance I’d be here without her, so thanks Mom. Love you.”
The No 42-ranked Michelsen reached the third round last year on his Australian Open debut before losing in the first rounds at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, and in the second round at the US Open.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz began his bid to complete a career grand slam with an imperfect but entertaining 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 win over Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko to ease into the Australian Open second round on Monday.
Four-times major champion Alcaraz is targeting his maiden trophy at Melbourne Park to become the youngest man to capture all four grand slam titles, and the 21-year-old went all guns blazing after a slightly nervy opening game.
“I always say that it’s hard work,” Alcaraz said. “I try to bring the best of me every day. That’s the secret. Every day I try to be a better person and better player.”
The third seed, still fine-tuning a new service motion that he adopted in the off season, fended off a break point and then broke in the third game to take full control of the opening set, which he wrapped up in double-quick time.
French Open and Wimbledon holder Alcaraz found his range with some devastating winners on both flanks and went up 3-1 in the second set but world number 77 Shevchenko won the next four games as fans on Margaret Court Arena got behind the underdog.
Alcaraz switched back on and struck a fiery forehand winner to set up another break point and drew level in the 10th game as his opponent began to feel the intense pressure again and went on to surrender the set.
With the momentum having swung definitively, 2022 US Open champion Alcaraz reeled off games in the third set and finished it off with a big ace on his fifth match point to book a second-round meeting with Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
“He’s a really solid player,” Alcaraz said.
“I have to be focused on my shots ... Hopefully I can enjoy the match, it’s going to be tough. I’ll try to produce some good tennis for people to enjoy.”
