The Kyrgios and Kokkinakis fairytale from last year’s Australian Open will not be repeated. Kyrgios injured, partner wants to build a singles career

The Australian Open is back and there is a lot of talk about whether there will be a repeat of some of the fantastic stories from last year. Home fans in particular would like to see the Special K’s duo’s success again. How realistic is that?

Nick Kyrgios is one of the most famous tennis players of our time. He is certainly the most talented player of his generation, but his attitude and character are holding him back.

As an Australian, he is understandably trying to succeed, especially at the Australian Open, but so far he hasn’t been successful. Last year, he finished in the second round on Daniil Medvedev’s racket.

But that was not the end of his tournament journey. On the contrary. It was the beginning of a sensational story of two singles players who have been friends since childhood. Kyrgios teamed up with Thanassi Kokkinakis and miracles began to happen.

They wanted to have fun, they wanted to enjoy tennis and they wanted to enjoy playing together. It was one big show, which ended up with them lifting the doubles winner’s trophy at the Australian Open.

As well as the players, the fans had fun. The way they destroyed the best doubles pairings in the world was unbelievable. The fact that a record number of spectators in the tournament’s history watched the final of last year’s doubles at the Australian Open is a testament to how much their drive pulled.

Kyrgios and Kokkinakis entered the tournament through a wild card. They became the first ever wild card pair to win the Australian Open in the open era.

And will it happen again? Sadly, no. Although the popular pair originally planned to play in the tournament, Kyrgios announced his withdrawal due to a knee injury. Kokkinakis, however, took the doubles only as a bonus.

“I would be lying if I said I thought we were going to defend the title. Last year we were really thinking about winning. We will try to do our best in singles, doubles is a bonus for us. Hopefully our bodies will hold up,” Kokkinakis expressed before the tournament.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect to do so much in doubles. I don’t feel like I need to prove anything more in doubles. I want to build my career in singles,” added Kyrgios’ friend and partner.

Source: Australian Open, Cairns Post