Nick Kyrgios has hailed the ‘X factor’ of rising British tennis star Jacob Fearnley ahead of their first-round showdown at the Australian Open.
Fearnley, 23, is set to feature in his second Grand Slam main draw having impressively pushed Novak Djokovic to four sets at Wimbledon last year.
The Brit is currently ranked world No.86 – the highest position he has held to date – and Kyrgios knows he could be set for an incredibly tough match.
The fiery Aussie, who has been given a wildcard by Australian Open organisers, has not played at a major since the 2022 US Open due to injury.
Ahead of his opening match against Fearnley, Kyrgios said: ‘He’s been knocking on the door with some pretty good results the last six to nine months.
‘He’s obviously very confident. He was actually in my hometown the other week playing a Challenger there. I saw him there.
‘He’s extremely confident. You got to be careful with these guys. I know players like me, we do have a target on our back.
‘These guys go out there trying to play their best tennis. I’ve experienced that.
‘When guys go out there confident on their debut, they tend to play a bit higher and better than their actual base level. I’m not underestimating anyone in this event.
‘Me personally, I haven’t played many tennis matches. I’m still trying to find my feet as well.
‘At the same time I’ll do my research and be well aware of what he does well.
‘He’s obviously been in pretty good form, too. Pretty sure he made things pretty challenging for Novak at Wimbledon. Anyone who can do that on such a big stage has that X factor there.
‘I know he’s being to be willing to embrace that challenge against me in Australia. It’s going to be good.’
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