January 29, (THEWILL) – After living down what has been considered a very promising tennis career Nick Kyrgios can now declare himself a Grand Slam champion for the first time.
In an all-Australian final, Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis won the men’s doubles title by defeating Mathew Ebden and Max Purcells in straight sets.
Before hugging his teammate at the net, Kyrgios served out the match to give the “Special Ks” a 7-5 6-4 triumph.
It capped an incredible day for Australia, which saw Ash Barty win the women’s final and become the country’s first Grand Slam singles champion in 44 years. The “Special Ks,” who entered the tournament as a wild card and had never reached a major final before, had had an incredible week.
In the weeks leading up to the competition, Kyrgios tested positive for COVID-19 and lost in the second round of the singles draw to eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev. Kokkinakis had been plagued by injuries for the previous two years, but he is off to a fantastic start in 2022 after winning his maiden ATP singles title in Adelaide earlier this month.
Despite his enormous potential, Kyrgios has been chastised for failing to win a Grand Slam singles championship, and has become better known for his on-court theatrics and fury than for his tennis game, which can be ruthless when he is at his best.
Both sides of Kyrgios’ game were on exhibit in this final, which featured plenty of hard hitting and quick-fire volleys, as well as some of the usual Kyrgios antics.
He faked an underhand serve in his first service game before hitting a winner to hold to love. In the second set, he demanded that a spectator be ejected for shouting during Purcell’s serve.
Purcell and Ebden went on to win the game after saving a championship point. Kyrgios, on the other hand, wasted no time in putting the match away, hitting two aces to set up match points.
After their victory, Kyrgios said: “Honestly, this week has been a dream come true for me. I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. I’m just super happy. I don’t even know how we’re doing this or what’s going on right now to be brutally honest.”
Kokkinakis added: “Nick, I love you brother. I can honestly say we did not expect to even come close to this. It’s been a rough couple of years for me personally the last few years. But what a month we’ve had.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
