Kyrgios was the king of the kids in Melbourne, but one thing broke his heart

“I try to be a good role model and show that someone like me can still have fun, no matter what you look like or where you come from.”

Kyrgios said it would not be fair to him to deny someone like Wawrinka the chance to play at Melbourne Park when he had doubts about his ability to compete with the world’s best in his current condition.

“I’m not even sure I could back up one bike,” he said.

“I think Stan absolutely deserves a wild card and obviously some of the other Aussies. I’m still playing doubles and hopefully a bit of mixed so it’s special to be a part of that.”

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Kyrgios will play the Australian Open “1-Point Slam” but is unsure about his tournament plans after this summer ends. He has not played at Roland-Garros since 2017 and confirmed on Tuesday that his Paris drought will not end this year.

“Honestly, my whole goal was just to go through the whole of last month and the Australian summer and reevaluate where my body is at,” Kyrgios said.

“If I’m still able to produce a bit of a level like [today against Zhang]I think Wimbledon is a bit easier physically.

“If I can put together a good couple of months after training, we’ll see. But as of now, I’ve got that 1 Point Slam tomorrow to try and lock in.”

Kyrgios also hailed the health of Australian tennis, spearheaded by six-time major quarter-finalist and world number six Alex de Minaur, but more telling was his comparison of the camaraderie between the current crop and his best.

“I think the state of Australian tennis is probably as good as it’s ever been,” he said.

“We’re so deep. Obviously, Demon is flying the flag from the front, and then you have a lot of players that are in the top 100, top 250 that are contenders almost every week in all these small tournaments.”

“It’s good to see because I feel like when I was playing and when I was coming up, there wasn’t always a lot of unity among the players. There was always a lot of competition between us, which is good, but now there’s a lot of camaraderie. Everyone supports each other, and that’s what I always want.”
– Marc McGowan

AO’s Cruz Hewitt in straight sets against an American college player

There was hardly an empty seat on the popular court for Australian players, located in the middle of Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

Formerly known as show court 3 but emblazoned with the sponsor’s name for 2026, fans knew where to head to catch a glimpse of a familiar name in an Australian Open first round qualifying match.

Almost 30,000 patrons flocked to Melbourne Park on Monday as the three-week AO kicked off with a bang. The following day, however, the mood was lighter and reminiscent of past qualifying days with fewer visitors in the house compared to the first day of the “opening week”.

But they knew where to go – straight to the renamed ANZ Arena, eager to see 17-year-old Cruz Hewitt, son of an Australian tennis legend and qualified wild card, take on American Michael Zheng.

The task as it turned out for world No. 732 Hewitt — trying to keep pace with a 21-year-old with a decent college tennis pedigree — proved too much.

Last year, when Hewitt received his first AO qualifying wild card shortly after his 16th birthday, the draw pitted him against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, the former world number 16, and the raw teenager lost in straight sets. And this year the draw was not so kind to him.

Hewitt lost 6–3, 6–3 to Zheng, losing in two 38-minute sets. He declined requests to speak to the media after the game.

But there were good times for the 185cm Hewitt, a promising young talent who was named Junior Athlete of the Year (Male) at last year’s Newcombe Medal awards.

Hewitt served first and kicked deep after staring down several break points. He secured the first game and an ace on the tee earned him the advantage on the board, the 1-0 score brought the crowd to life.

Then the second set was all about Hewitt trying to hang on. He turned a deficit of 1:4 to 3:4. Faced with the task of holding serve to boost hopes of winning the set and forcing a decider, a double fault at 30-30 proved costly. Not long after Zheng concluded the victory.

Having competed in junior events at all four of last year’s Slams, Hewitt’s match experience in front of another decent crowd will only add to his catalog of moments to draw upon as he looks to build a professional career.

Elsewhere, veteran Australian Storm Hunter cruised through the first round of qualifying in straight sets to mark an impressive return to Melbourne Park.

Australia’s top seed in Hunter action on Tuesday was a 7-5, 6-3 win over Georgia’s Ekaterine Gorgodze in one hour and 23 minutes at the Kia Arena.

The 31-year-old, a former world number one in doubles, missed last year’s Open as she recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

A low singles ranking of No.363 meant Hunter, who boasts a third-round singles appearance in Melbourne two years ago, had to rely on a wild card to qualify.

“I was like, ‘Wow, I’m missing out, and I don’t know if I’m going to get back,'” she said of her experience last year.

“So to win today was amazing.

Hunter, who has qualified in the past, is confident she can make the main draw again.

“I can beat anybody. And I’ve qualified here at the Aussie Open, I’ve qualified at Wimbledon and I’ve qualified in France,” she said.

“So I know what it means, but I also know how hard it is to do.

“To be honest, it’s incredibly difficult to qualify and I’m just going to take it day by day.”

Hunter will face Serbia’s Lola Radivojevic in the second round of qualifying after the 21-year-old overcame a scare from 18-year-old Australian Alana Subasic.

The pair have never played together.

“I’ll look at the tape and then I’ll talk to my team,” Hunter said.

“But a lot of my game and focus is about me and how I play.

“When I’m aggressive, I can put pressure on anybody, no matter how they play.
-Scott Spits with AAP