The Canadian-Aussie pairing of Leylah Fernandez and Nick Kyrgios advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the Australian Open on Friday. The duo fought hard against Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk, winning 6-7(6), 6-4, 12-10 at the ANZ Arena on Friday.
Fernandez and Kyrgios led their opponents in aces (10), first-serve percentage (74%), and total points won (80). Both teams broke serve once during the match, with Skupski and Krawczyk leading in total winners (25). Despite being overwhelmed by their opponents in pockets of the game, Fernandez and Kyrgios found a way to win.
After the match, Fernandez and Kyrgios attended the press conference. A journalist asked the duo how their wildcard pairing was formalized ahead of the Grand Slam tournament. The Canadian took the baton to answer the question.
“It was funny, I think it was with Brisbane. Yeah, it was Brisbane, and I remember the night before my dad and I were talking. We said Would it be cool if, like Nick and I, we played doubles together, and we were just talking like that, as jokingly a little bit, and I feel like my dad took the initiative and went up to Nick before your practice,” Fernandez said.
“And brought up the question, and Nick was nice enough to say yes. And I immediately sent the message, and it just kind of started that way. But it was great, great that it worked out,” she added.
Leylah Fernandez Credits Nick Kyrgios For Bringing the Crowd Support During R1 Match
Meanwhile, Fernandez acknowledged the former Wimbledon finalist for bringing tremendous energy to the court and for rousing the home fans to cheer for them throughout the first-round contest.
In response, Kyrgios backed his experience at the Australian Open and said that at this stage of his life, he wasn’t taking any match for granted.
“Yeah, I mean, looks like I’ve played a lot of matches at the AO. And I guess at this part of my career, like, you know, I don’t take any match for granted even if it’s doubles like last night or mix,” Kyrgios said.
“Like that was some of the, you know, craziest energy that I’ve had, and I mean like that was, you know, I’ve obviously played like some amazing matches at the AO, but that’s got to be one of my favorite ones. Like 9-6 down, 7-3. Like obviously we’re thinking, like realistically, tennis players, like you don’t always believe you can come back,” he added.
“But I was like, look, if we just like one at a time, like maybe we can do it. And the crowd just, yeah, they were amazing all day, all night. As they stayed, they hung around, and it was amazing. Like I’m really excited for our next round,” Kyrgios concluded.
Fernandez and Kyrgios’ next-round opponents are yet to be decided, with more first-round matches scheduled for Saturday.
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