After surgery and close to 16 months of around-the-clock rehabilitation, things began looking up for Nick Kyrgios. And yet here he is, dealing with pain once more.

If this was the last Australian Open singles match of Nick Kyrgios' career — and, to be sure, it's hard to know with him, no matter what came out at his news conference — the big-hitting, big-talking tennis player went out rather quietly Monday night.

Hampered by an abdominal strain, the mercurial Australian went down in straight sets to Briton Jacob Fearnley in their opener. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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.

Nick Kyrgios' Australian Open return ended in defeat. The former world No. 13 was playing his first Grand Slam match since the 2022 US Open. He came back from a break down in the third set but suffered a 7-6 (3) 6-3 7-6 (2) defeat at the hands of Jacob Fearnley.

Great Britain's Jacob Fearnley claimed the biggest win of his career at the Australian Open with a straight-sets victory over Nick Kyrgios. Home favourite Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist, was handicapped by an abdominal strain as Fearnley prevailed 7-6 (3) 6-3 7-6 (2) in two hours and 19 minutes in Melbourne.

Great Britain’s Jacob Fearnley claimed the biggest win of his career at the Australian Open with a straight-sets victory over Nick Kyrgios. Home favourite Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist, was handicapped by an abdominal strain as Fearnley prevailed 7-6 (3) 6-3 7-6 (2) in two hours and 19 minutes in Melbourne.

Britain's Jacob Fearnley produced an Australian Open shock on Monday by knocking out Nick Kyrgios on his much-anticipated return at his home Grand Slam.

Nick Kyrgios’s long-awaited return to the grand slam stage proved something of a let-down as Briton Jacob Fearnley sent the ailing home hero out of the Australian Open first round in straight sets on Monday.

After months of interminable hype and speculation, Nick Kyrgios finally made his grand return to the Australian Open. Despite having a low bar set for him after missing almost two full years, Kyrgios still laid an egg in front of his home crowd in Melbourne.