How the Leylah Fernandez-Nick Kyrgios partnership came to be
Leylah Fernandez has a penchant for star-studded doubles pairings.
At last year's US Open she paired with seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, reaching the quarterfinals in one of the stories of the tournament.
And this year, at the Australian Open, she's playing mixed doubles with Nick Kyrgios, always one to speak his mind and draw attention -- especially when playing in Melbourne.
The Fernandez-Kyrgios team was born in Brisbane earlier this month. During a conversation with her father, the 23-year-old Canadian mentioned half-jokingly that it would be fun to play doubles with Kyrgios.
The following day, Fernandez's father approached Kyrgios on site and asked if he'd be down to partner with the former US Open finalist. The 30-year-old Australian immediately agreed.
Fernandez, currently ranked No. 23 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, took to the court with Kyrgios on Friday for their first match, and it didn't disappoint.
After splitting the first two sets against Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk, Kyrgios and Fernandez trailed 9-6 in the deciding tiebreak. On the brink, they saved three match points and ultimately pulled it out 6-7 (6), 6-4, 12-10.
"[At] 9-8 you told me, 'You're made for this moment,'" Fernandez said after the match. "I just started believing. I'm like, 'Yeah, I am.' It was just a lot of fun. Nick brought the great energy, and also the crowd."
The crowd was firmly behind Fernandez and Kyrgios in the match in ANZ Arena, and it was reminiscent of the atmosphere in Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York when Fernandez teamed with Williams.
"It was a lot of fun," said Fernandez, who lost her opening singles match to Janice Tjen. "My goodness, I keep hearing how the crowd here in the AO is very rowdy. It's a party, and finally I have the chance to experience it, and I also get the chance to kind of compare it to the US Open. It's just very electric.
"I love this crowd. I love how rowdy they got and how motivating they [were]. I was just excited to play the next point. I totally forgot the score sometimes and just enjoyed my time with them."
Fernandez also lost her first-round doubles match, teaming up with Timea Babos.
In the second round, Fernandez and Kyrgios will either play Olivia Nicholls and Henry Patten or Anna Danilina and James Tracy.