Gael Monfils in emotional Auckland farewell, Cruz Hewitt has packed stadium despite loss while Sinner watches coach in One Point Slam
ATPTuesday, 13 January 2026 at 23:30
In our Daily Dose of Social Media, we take a look back at some of the best moments you may have missed from the last 24 hours in the run up to the Australian Open.
Some of the best entertainment featuring Nick Kyrgios, Renata Zarazua, Gael Monfils, Cruz Hewitt among others as we count down the days towards the main event in Melbourne.
Kyrgios seals exhibition win
Nick Kyrgios made the decision not to pursue a wildcard for the Australian Open owing to the fact that he had a pretty poor time of it in Brisbane and he will solely play doubles with long time friend Thanasi Kokkinakis. But it didn't stop him playing in Kooyong defeating Zhang Zhizhen.
"Another opportunity another blessing … you know I had to bring out the Kygs x Kyrie KICKS. Thankyou KOOYONG," he wrote on Instagram.
"No, thank you Nick! What a turnout it was today and the fans were absolutely thrilled! We hope you enjoyed your time at the Kooyong Classic today and we can’t wait to see you again," the account of the exhibition replied.
Paul McNamee said that while he'd be a miss in regards to packing stadiums, he's not a contender after Kyrgios confirmed that he wouldn't be playing this time around.
“I think the Aussie Open is too big to worry about that anymore,” he told SEN. “He is not one of the guys in contention really. Best of five on hard courts, he’s not ready for that.
“He would have filled John Cain Arena for a few matches, but we have to understand time is running out for Nick Kyrgios to have a run at a grand slam. Will we get to see that in Melbourne again? I hope we do next year.
“Like (Novak) Djokovic, the clock has run down. Other than Alcaraz, there is no one you would rather watch play. The guy does cross the line, and he rubs people the wrong way. Some of the things he has done are shocking. Not excusable, but he is riveting to watch.
“His style is so unique. Without warming up he’s serving aces. The guy is incredible talent. He and Alcaraz are the two most talented players in the world for talent but he has health issues, body issues and he has never had the make up of a Lleyton Hewitt. I don’t criticise him as much as others. Yes, he crosses a line, but who has everything?"
Gael Monfils bids farewell to ASB Classic
In likely the start of a lot of these this season, Gael Monfils said farewell firstly to his previous tournament win last year in the ASB Classic in Auckland after he lost to Fabian Marozsan.
The French whiz is set to retire this year and watched on last week as his wife Elina Svitolina sealed the WTA title and while he wasn't to be for him, he no doubt leaves New Zealand with lots of happy memories and including this past week watching his wife ultimately ironically have the last laugh.
“I have great memories here. I have been playing here since an early age,” said Monfils as per the tournament. “I came when I was 20 and I’m finishing in my 40s… It’s been a long ride. It’s been a big honour for me to play here, a special country with great culture. I was fortunate to win this title. Auckland has a special place in my heart.”
Svitolina said: “Before the tournament, he told me it would be amazing if we both won the same tournament. I always had it in the back of my mind.” They did win the same tournament albeit in different years so it wasn't perfection but was close to.
Renata Zarazua shows off horrific sunburn
While Hobart isn't exactly frying alive at the moment, the UV index is high which means bad news if your name is Renata Zarazua it seems as she showed off her sunburn on her Instagram.
She reminded everyone that baking in the sunny skies of Hobart isn't exactly the best idea. She showed pretty awful sunburn on her Instagram story.
Albeit despite that she is still in the tournament in Tazmania but will face a pretty tough test tomorrow in rising American Iva Jovic who reached the semi-finals in Auckland last week and heads into her first year as an adult as one to really watch.
Zarazua no doubt will be watching the after sun bottle...
Packed house for Cruz Hewitt loss
Another year with an early loss for Cruz Hewitt in qualifying at the Australian Open but he still drew the crowds showing there is very much lightning in a bottle there if he sticks to improving.
He lost in a packed ANZ Arena 6-3 6-3 in 76 minutes to American Michael Zheng who lauded the fact the stadium was packed afterwards. While for Hewitt as was duly noted, he has the tools but certain parts of his game need fine tuning so he isn't the finished article yet by a long chalk.
“There’s not much more I could ask for – I’m super excited,” Zheng said.
“This is what you work for in these full stadiums. I still had a lot of fans cheering for me, but even if the fans were cheering against me, it’s still an unbelievable experience.
“He (Hewitt) retuned really well on the games that he broke me. He was doing a good job attacking my second serve … but I just kept calm and tried to take it one point at a time.”
Student watches the master as Vagnozzi competes in One Point Slam
The one point Slam is currently taking place with one chance to win and only one point matters. With a huge cash prize up for grabs, Simone Vagnozzi who coaches Jannik Sinner took his chance.
However, after a 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide the server, he was eliminated in the second round by Calum Puttergill who plays doubles and famously was part of the duo that vanquished Cruz and Lleyton Hewitt when the latter came out of short lived retirement.
This was only qualifying so the main draw features Sinner, Alcaraz among others. The student was watching the master though with great delight as he took to the court and it produced a pretty amusing video. How will Sinner get on during his opportunity.
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