Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis progress to set up all-Australian doubles final

Sean FisherSean Fisher27 January 2022
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis reach the Australian Open doubles final

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis reach the Australian Open doubles final

The duo entered the Australian Open looking to have fun as friends, but now find themselves ready to compete in the Grand Slam doubles final.

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, now commonly referred to as the 'Special K's', dropped another superb performance on Thursday morning.

The pair faced off against third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in a packed-out Rod Laver Arena, and won in straight sets in front of their home crowd.
They were immediately greeted with cheers from the moment they walked out in the Melbourne venue, helped of course by Kyrgios' crowd-pleasing antics.
But the Aussie duo backed it up on the court, sealing a 7-6 (4) 6-4 victory to reach the doubles finals.
A closely-contested first set ended in a dramatic tie-break, which Kyrgios tried to clinch with a shot between his legs. While it didn't come off for the 26-year-old, his powerful returns eventually proved to be the difference.
In the second set, they looked ready to stroll to victory when they broke in the second game, but Kyrgios lost his serve, resulting in a fit of frustration that saw his racket smashed to the ground.
The Australian pair managed to recover their composure though, and Kokkinakis' lob proved to be the match-winning moment, resulting in a roar from the crowd.
Following the win, Kyrgios immediately praised the atmosphere around the arena, suggesting it was the best he's ever played in.
"I've played a lot of singles matches around the world in amazing atmospheres but this week with Thanasi, nothing beats this, this is insane."
Unlike the pair's previous opponents, Granollers and Zeballos had no problems with the crowd or atmosphere.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were previously confronted regarding their on-court behaviour, but the former believes his actions are helping to bring new fans to the sport.
"I think tennis is a sport, as of now, that's never been talked about as much," said Kyrgios. "We need more attention, we need more viewers. My goal is to only bring new fans that may not be following tennis to watch tennis.
"If they flick on a match and they have Thanasi and I playing in an entertaining doubles match, they know nothing about tennis, if they watch that match just then, they probably would tune in next time.
"That's what I'm about. That's what I want to bring. I think that's how the sport is going to survive.
"I think the balance was there today. The quality of tennis was amazing. I think the festival atmosphere was still there. I think they embraced it. They knew it was an incredible atmosphere. Zeballos took a selfie with us before we walked out. That's how you embrace an atmosphere."
Having reached the final, the pair will now face off against fellow Australian's Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden for the Grand Slam title.
When asked about their opponents, Kyrgios was quick to avoid addressing who the crowd would root for.
"We have four Aussies in the final," said Kyrgios. "Can we stop dividing which crowd is going to go for who. It's f***ing awesome."

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