The new wave of teenage Australian men’s tennis players don’t plan on letting an absence of Australian Open experience stop them doing some damage.
Last year Nick Kyrgios, 18, and Thanasi Kokkinakis, 17 played off in the boys’ final at Melbourne Park, with Kyrgios triumphant.
This year, that pair and 19-year-old Jordan Thompson will all be making their main draw debuts after being handed wildcards.
All three have already claimed scalps which have them confident they can win matches at the Open, not just gain experience.
Kyrgios, who couldn’t play any warm-up events because of a shoulder injury, already boasts one grand slam match win, having upset former world No.8 Radek Stepanek in the first round of last year’s French Open.
Kokkinakis warmed up for his Open debut by downing world No.31 Jeremy Chardy and No.34 Ivan Dodig over the past week at an exhibition event in Adelaide.
And Thompson notched a win over world No.42 Juan Monaco at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne.
“There’s a lot of guys, not only me and Thanasi, but Jordan Thompson just to name another guy who has been stepping up and taking it to the top guys as well,” Kyrgios told reporters at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
“I think we’re more than capable of doing some damage.”
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis have been helped by the draw, as two of just three Australian men to be facing unseeded opponents in the first round.
Kyrgios will meet German world No.81 Benjamin Becker, who has lost in the first round in three of his previous six Opens.
Kokkinakis takes on Dutch world No.73 Igor Sijsling, who lost his only previous Australian Open main draw match last year.
“I’ve beaten some good players the last couple of weeks, so that gives me confidence, especially for this first round,” Kokkinakis said.
He and Kyrgios both play on Tuesday, with Thompson to face Polish 20th seed Jerzy Janowicz on Monday.