British star Jacob Fearnley admits beating Nick Kyrgios was 'one of the best experiences of my life' - as Jack Draper heaps praise on compatriot after shock Australian Open win
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Back in the days when Jacob Fearnley and Jack Draper were friends and competitors on the junior tennis circuit, in young Jack’s more unruly moment his parents would bemoan: ‘Why can’t you behave more like Jacob?’. Draper related the story after Fearnley had taken the prized scalp of Nick Kyrgios, the highlight of four British wins out of four on day two of the Australian Open.
![[Jack Draper later took the time to heap praise on the 23-year-old's success in Melbourne]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/18/94047563-14279787-image-a-3_1736793522465.jpg)
‘We were under 12s, under 14s and he would always be very level-headed, very calm and most of the time he would get the better of me when we were playing,’ said Draper after his own win, a five-set tussle against Argentina’s Mariano Navone. Never can Fearnley’s placid demeanour have been more valuable than in this match. The night session crowd on John Cain arena were here to see Kyrgios and they were here to party. They were ready to explode but Fearnley cut the red wire and then the green and defused the bomb.
![[Fearnley admitted that the victory was 'one of the best experiences of my life']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/18/94047575-14279787-image-a-4_1736793562511.jpg)
You do not survive the wild west of US college tennis without having a bit of ticker and Texas Christian University grad Fearnley played with expressionless, relentless aggression. He drained all the emotion out of the stadium, at least until Kyrgios broke back in the third set. The crowd belatedly woke up and began cheering every Fearnley error but the Scot’s nerve never wavered and he closed out 7-6, 6-3, 7-6.
![[Kyrgious admitted that it could be the last time he would play singles at the Australian Open]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/18/94047573-14279787-image-a-5_1736793564536.jpg)
