“I deleted Instagram after the draw”

The anticipation for the return of Nick Kyrgios all’Australian Open after the two years of forced absence he causes knee and wrist injuries. The Canberra native will make his Happy Slam debut on Monday 13 January against Jacob Fearnleywho in the press conference on the eve of the tournament admitted that he was a little anxious about the idea of ​​facing Nick at his home due to the atmosphere that would be created and that he had deleted Instagram after the draw also given the great media attention that had been created around the match.

Fearnley’s anxiety at the idea of ​​facing Kyrgios

Face Nick Kyrgios on a tennis court is never a banal experience – both for his incredible skills with the racket and for his ability to fire up the crowd – let alone do so upon his return to the court atAustralian Open after two years absence. He is aware of it too Jacob Fearnleydrawn in the first round against the player from Canberra, who in the press conference that anticipated the start of the tournament admitted to feeling a little anxious about the idea of ​​taking to the pitch:

“When I saw that I had been drawn with Kyrgios I was a bit anxious, it’s not the match you want to play in Australia, I know the crowd will be against me. It’s a match I’m looking forward to playing but I’m also very nervous about it. I will try not to pay attention to the public, I have already played in somewhat hostile environments, you have to be good at ignoring what the spectators tell you”.

Fearnley deletes himself from social media after the draw with Kyrgios

The fact of being drawn against Kyrgios inevitably turned the spotlight on Fearnleywhich he revealed he had canceled from Instagram after discovering that he had to face Nick to avoid being distracted by the many messages he was receiving and perhaps also to avoid attacks from the Australian’s fans: “I deleted Instagram, I was receiving a lot of messages. What if I decided it after the draw? I would say yes. It was something I wanted to do to try to stay as focused as possible”.

Kyrgios chasing first singles win since 2022

The first round ofAustralian Open against Fearnely it won’t be a banal meeting either Kyrgioswho in his home slam has the chance to obtain his first official singles victory since his triumph over Majchrzak at the ATP 500 in Tokyo, which dates back over two years ago, to be precise on 6 October 2022.

From the end of the 2022 season, Kyrgios he was in fact the victim of two serious knee and wrist injuries, which forced him to stay away from the pitch for practically two years. Practically because in reality Nick had already made his return to the circuit in June 2023 at the ATP 250 in Stuttgart, where he was defeated in two sets by Wu Yibing, only to be injured again and return to the court only in 2025 in Brisbanewhere he was eliminated on his debut by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.