Nick Kyrgios marks his return to grand slam tennis after over 18 months away from the ATP tour, getting back into the swing of things with an opening round match at his home grand slam at the Australian Open. However, the outspoken Australian succumbed to a 7-6 6-3 7-6 loss against the Brit, and Kyrgios was typically abrasive and loud even during his struggles during the match.
Kyrgios, a player known for his loud personality both on and off the court, was struggling physically in the first set. Kyrgios also picked up an abdominal injury to go with his recurring knee and wrist injuries, which forced him to pull out of an exhibition match at Melbourne Park against Novak Djokovic, and seemed to be struggling with his serve due to that abdominal discomfort.
At one point in the first set, trying to rev himself up by giving himself words of encouragement and also trying to engage with the crowd, Kyrgios said "Just keep f***ing serving, alright? I'm here now. I'm here now so I may as well just keep serving," which was picked up by the broadcast.
Kyrgios had already uttered a string of expletives as he grew increasingly frustrated with his struggles in the first set and as his performance didn’t match up to his standards. The broadcasters were forced to apologise for his outbursts as they were audible on the stream of the match, with commentator Mikey Perera saying: "You can see Nick Kyrgios is starting to unload again. I'll keep apologising, everybody. It might still keep on coming, the bad language from Kyrgios. He's just venting to his team."
Kyrgios known for aggressive personality
{{/usCountry}}Kyrgios had already uttered a string of expletives as he grew increasingly frustrated with his struggles in the first set and as his performance didn’t match up to his standards. The broadcasters were forced to apologise for his outbursts as they were audible on the stream of the match, with commentator Mikey Perera saying: "You can see Nick Kyrgios is starting to unload again. I'll keep apologising, everybody. It might still keep on coming, the bad language from Kyrgios. He's just venting to his team."
Kyrgios known for aggressive personality
{{/usCountry}}Kyrgios is renowned for his outspoken and aggressive personality on the court, often engaging in verbal battles not just with match umpires but also with members of the crowd in the past. However, it didn’t help on John Cain Arena in his opening match, as Scotsman Fearnley didn’t allow the partisan crowd and his raucous opponent to distract him.
Fearnley continued his fast rise as he handled the first set tiebreaker, before taking advantage of a sluggish Kyrgios to easily win the second set. Kyrgios looked in better shape in the third set, serving better and getting the crowd involved, but Fearnley played the crowd perfectly to seal the match.