Nick Kyrgios forces Aus Open opponent into brutal move as Todd Woodbridge rips Thanasi Kokkinakis

Kyrios makes his grand slam return against World No.86 Jacob Fearnley at Melbourne Park.

Nick Kyrgios' first round opponent at the Australian Open admits he had to delete Instagram after being drawn against the home favourite at Melbourne Park. And Aussie tennis great Todd Woodbridge has delivered a truth bomb to Thanasi Kokkinakis over a pre-tournament schedule that leaves the Aussie under an injury cloud heading into the year's first major.

Kyrgios will make his long-awaited grand slam return from injury on Monday night as he faces Britain's World No.86 Jacob Fearnley on his beloved John Cain Arena. It's a nightmare first-up clash for Scotsman Fearnley, who admits he'll be up against arguably the most dangerous unseeded player, buoyed on by a vocal home crowd that will be firmly against the Brit.

On the left is Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis on right.
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis both head into the Australian Open under injury clouds. Pic: Getty

The 29-year-old Kyrgios used his protected ranking to gain entry into the Australian Open after being sidelined with wrist and knee injuries since the 2022 US Open. And Fearnley admits that as soon as the draw was made and he learned that Kyrgios would be his first round opponent, the 23-year-old was forced to delete his social media account after being bombarded with messages.

"I actually deleted Instagram. I was getting a lot of messages. I wanted to try and stay as centred as possible," Fearnley said. The World No.86 took a set off 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year after making the second round as a wildcard in his debut grand slam tournament. And Fearnley says he's expecting a raucous pro-Kyrgios crowd to be cheering against him on the Aussie's favourite court.

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"I know that the crowd's going to be against me. Obviously there was a lot of excitement as well (about the draw) because it's not a common match," Fearnley said about being pitted against such a formidable opponent in round one. "I've been to some pretty hostile environments. Probably not as many people as are going to be watching on Monday.

"I've definitely had some nasty things thrown in my direction. You just have to ignore it and move on. I think the best thing I can do is just try to enjoy it as best as I can. Obviously focusing on myself is one thing. I understand that's going to be very difficult to do. It's still pretty early in my career. To have an opportunity and an experience like this is really cool."

Seen here, British tennis star Jacob Fearnley.
Jacob Fearnley knows the crowd will be against him in a dangerous first round match against Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open. Pic: Getty

Kyrgios has undergone three rounds of wrist and knee surgeries since 2022 and has also been hindered by an abdominal strain. And Kyrgios admits he's "just enjoying being back" after revealing that he was still playing in pain and needed a "miracle" to compete at Melbourne Park.

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Fellow Aussie Kokkinakis is also under an injury cloud ahead of his first round clash against Russia's Roman Safiullin on Monday. A shoulder complaint saw Kokkinakis withdraw from the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International last week, and while it does not appear to be too serious, Aussie great Woodbridge questioned whether Kokkinakis should have put more emphasis on getting his body right for the Australian Open, rather than playing lucrative tournaments overseas at the back-end of 2024.

Pictured right is Todd Woodbridge and Thanasi Kokkinakis on left.
Todd Woodbridge has questioned Thanasi Kokkinakis' tennis schedule after his recent injury before the Australian Open. Pic: Getty

"He has to think hard about what he's going to do to get the best tennis career out of himself," Woodbridge said on Channel 9 on Monday morning. "At the back end of the year he's played Challengers and then he went and played exhibition matches that he didn't need to do. Yes the money's great and we all love putting that in our pocket and that's exactly what he did, but that schedule hurts to start the year."

Kokkinakis' career has been frequently interrupted by injuries and Woodbridge suggested he would have been better resting up at the end of 2024, like most of his major rivals did. The Aussie great believes a more selective schedule would have given Kokkinakis a better chance to head into the Australian Open in peak physical condition, and hopes his compatriot has given himself enough time to get his shoulder right ahead of Monday's first round match.