In the end, it was a one-night only affair. The return of the Special Ks – Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis – to the Australian Open saw the former champions go down 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (10-4) to fellow Australians Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans. Bruised and wounded from injuries, the pair looked set for victory when they led by a break in the third but by the end, there was more wincing and more limping on show than winners.
“I don’t want to play another match feeling like that ever again,” Kokkinakis said. “I will take a serious break. The crowd was incredible. It was exciting, unfortunately probably they saw shadows of our former selves.” Kyrgios was more annoyed about what he saw as inconsistent rules regarding video replays. “How can you review a ball that’s been hit over the net, but you can’t review a serve over the net?” he said, referring to decisions early in the deciding tiebreak. “Doesn’t make any fucking sense.”
The 5,000-strong crowd inside the Kia Arena got their money’s worth, though. There was an underarm serve, a racket throw, plenty of swearing, numerous interactions with the fans and a stirring comeback from Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, only for Kubler and Polmans to rip up the script as they hit back to pinch victory.
Both Kyrgios and Kokkinakis had been unable to play singles thanks to their respective, well-documented injury problems. With Kokkinakis needing treatment on his shoulder and Kyrgios telling his partner he had already taken a painkiller, they did well to finish the match.
“I’m tired,” Kyrgios admitted. “My goal in the last couple of months was to play all these tournaments, get through some doubles. I’ve got mixed tomorrow and then I’ll re-evaluate what my schedule looks like. That’s it. I’ve ticked all my boxes, all my goals the last month-and-a-half. I’ve done everything I thought I could do. I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
With Kyrgios conducting the fans and chatting non-stop, the first set was pure theatre. Originally scheduled to start “not before 4pm”, the match eventually began at 9pm thanks to the efforts of Stan Wawrinka, who extended his last Australian Open with a four-hour, 33-minute victory in his second-round singles match. The extra drinking time for the fans had the desired effect.
The umpire Marijana Veljovic had her hands full throughout, at one stage warning Kyrgios for an audible obscenity and at another, laughing behind her hand as the former Wimbledon runner-up said: “I don’t want Waterdrop, I don’t get paid to drink Waterdrop. Pay me.” On another occasion she instructed the crowd: “OK guys, you’re amazing, for real. Now we’re ready for play.” On another, she said: “Ladies and gentlemen, players are playing for you, please respect them and please stay quiet during play.”
Considering their lack of recent match play Kyrgios and Kokkinakis played well, especially once the initial rust was blown away. The Kyrgios serve was as effective as ever, even if he was the only man who was broken in the opener – not helped by an underarm serve that was duly punished by Kubler. The fact Kyrgios had even practised the unusual move in his warm-up might have alerted Kubler to the possibility.
Kyrgios began to find his range at the start of the second set, showing nice touch at the net, while Kokkinakis started to hit his returns more sharply. Kubler, a former doubles champion here himself, was the most solid player on court but, under pressure at the end of the set, he was broken and the scores were level.
The momentum was with Kyrgios and Kokkinakis going into the third. The crowd continued to chant “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” but it was clear who most of them wanted to win. And when they broke for a 3-1 lead, after the best rally of the match, ending with a lob winner from Kyrgios, it looked like they would go on to victory.
At 4-1, though, Kokkinakis needed the physio for shoulder pain. Kyrgios was broken two games later and Polmans saved a break point to level at 4-4. Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were two points from victory at 6-5, deuce in the third, but Polmans again hit himself out of trouble.
The deciding tiebreak began with a let that Kyrgios and Kokkinakis said could not have been one and then, when they thought they had levelled for 2-2, a video review was requested by their opponents, the replay showing Kokkinakis had hit his volley before it crossed the net. From that point on it was all Kubler and Polmans.
