Briton Jacob Fearnley might be forgiven for having a sinking feeling after seeing his name bracketed with Nick Kyrgios in the first round of the Australian Open.

Britain's Jacob Fearnley said his upcoming Australian Open clash with home favourite Nick Kyrgios is "not a match you want to see in Australia.

Britain's Jacob Fearnley is set to face Nick Kyrgios - and a partisan home crowd - in the controversial Australian's return to Grand Slam tennis.

Nick Kyrgios returns to the Australian Open and plays Britain’s Jacob Fearnley in his first match at the tournament in three years. The controversial Australian has been sidelined for most of the past two years following knee and wrist surgeries - and claims the sport has been “mundane” in his absence.

The British No.3 will face the former Wimbledon finalist and a raucous atmosphere in Kyrgios’ favourite John Cain Arena on Monday night here. The Scot said he will try to block out the inevitable noise and distractions as the Aussie plays his first home Grand Slam for three years.

For Jacob Fearnley, a first-round clash against Nick Kyrgios at the 2025 Australian Open is surely set to actualise his rather astonishing recent rise.

Britain’s Jacob Fearnley was handed a blockbuster Australian Open debut against Nick Kyrgios. Scot Fearnley was still at college in the United States during last year’s tournament but has rocketed up to 86 in the world after a stunning start to his professional tennis career, which included taking a set off Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.

Nick Kyrgios says he is good for tennis and the sport will get a boost from his return to Grand Slam action at the Australian Open

There have still been plenty of words written about Kyrgios while he was away from the tour, especially regarding his outspoken criticism of world number one Jannik Sinner over two failed doping tests.

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.