Aussie tennis great Todd Woodbridge has moved to temper expectations on Nick Kyrgios ahead of the showman’s comeback match.
The 29-year-old will play his first Australian Open match in three years when he steps onto John Cain Arena on Monday night against dangerous British player Jacob Fearnley.
Kyrgios had a breakout year on tour in 2022 when he made a Wimbledon final, but has since been cruelled by injuries.
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He returned to play the Brisbane International last month but was bounced in the first round by big-serving French giant Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, and then revealed a fresh injury.
An abdominal strain hasn’t stopped him from making it to Melbourne Park but Woodbridge can’t see a scenario in which Kyrgios challenges for the title.
Nick Kyrgios. Florian Eisele via Getty Images
“We have to be realistic,” Woodbridge told Wide World of Sports’ The Morning Serve.
“He hasn’t played in nearly two years. He played a match up in Brisbane, where he played quite well… but within one match there are injury issues, and so that makes it really difficult to see him going very deep here.
“I think the reality that everyone out there has to understand is this is a comeback, it is not coming back to win the Australian Open. It is an opportunity to get his foot back in the door and see where he’s at.
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“He has got a good draw, that’s one good thing, but how deep (can he go)? I’m not so sure.
-“If it’s not a knee, shoulder, whatever, there is always something (wrong) with him, and that’s going to happen when you don’t play matches. You’ve got to get match-fit, not matter how hard you train.”
While Fearnley is unseeded and relatively unknown to the Australian audience, fans are being warned Monday night will be no walkover for Kyrgios.
He will, though, have the added help of the raucous John Cain Arena crowd behind him.
British great Mark Petchey is unsure what to expect from Kyrgios, or from the match.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to expect from Nick. I have absolutely no idea,” Petchey told Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily.
“The problem that he’s got in the wrist, he’s up against a very determined player, but he is so uber-talented that Kyrgios can come out here with the crowd on his side, on his favourite court and just light things up.
Nick Kyrgios celebrates. Bradley Canary via Getty Images
“He can obviously hold his serve so comfortably. One of the best in the world and then he only needs to somehow chisel out a break here and there.
“Fearnley got a set off Djokovic at Wimbledon last year, he is a very determined player. He’s a Scot, his career kind of stalled, went over to TCU (Texas Christian University). He is match hardened.
“He will not mind having a hostile crowd out there. College tennis is more of a war zone than Davis Cup.
“So from Jacob’s point of view, I think he’ll relish it. I think he’ll enjoy that atmosphere and he makes a lot of balls. Nick’s going to have to work hard to get past him.
“Jacob will embrace that environment. He won’t mind if Nick gets the crowd involved. He won’t mind if they climb all over him.”
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