Fearnley’s dominance quietened the home fans at a packed John Cain Arena which has boisterously backed Kyrgios during the memorable moments of his Australian Open career.

However, the atmosphere quickly fell flat as it became apparent that Kyrgios was struggling.

Former world number 13 Kyrgios, who is unranked and received a wildcard to play, suffered an abdominal injury on his return at the Brisbane International at the start of January.

It meant there was a doubt if he would even play in Melbourne this week.

Kyrgios looked short of fitness from the start against Fearnley, regularly clutching his abdominal area and twice needing treatment at his chair.

Fearnley, who enjoyed a meteoric rise into the world’s top 100 last year, refused to be distracted by the issues faced by his opponent.

While Kyrgios rallied from a break down in the third set, briefly stoking up the crowd, Fearnley raced away in the tie-break to move into the second round.