Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis to defend Australian Open doubles title

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have signed up to defend their Australian Open men’s doubles title.

Australian Open men’s doubles entry list pic.twitter.com/0uQ74Gi9RH

— Michal Samulski (@MichalSamulski) December 23, 2022

Earlier this year, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis – who have been close friends since childhood – became Grand Slam champions together after beating Matt Ebdel and Max Purcell in the Australian Open men’s doubles final.

En route to winning the Australian Open doubles title, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis also knocked out Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic – who at the time were the top seeds in the tournament. 

When Kyrgios and Kokkinakis signed up to play doubles at the 2022 Australian Open, initially they just wanted to have some fun and entertain the Australian crowd.

In the end, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis ended up accomplishing a lot more than just entertaining home fans.

This January, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will again be sharing the same side of the net and they will certainly be fan favorites at Melbourne Park. 

Kyrgios, Kokkinakis became Grand Slam champions together

Kyrgios and Kokkinakis met when they were just kids and since then they have been great friends.

After winning the Australian Open with Kokkinakis, Kyrgios ranked it as his top title.  

“I have won some big titles around the world, played some amazing matches. This one ranks (number) one for me. When I say I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else, I mean it. It was just special. The whole week, winning each round, I didn’t take it for granted. I was soaking it in. I’m just super proud of myself. I don’t really care too much after I lost to (Daniil) Medvedev (in singles), but doing it with ‘Kokk’ is insane,” Kyrgios said after he and Kokkinakis won the Australian Open men’s doubles title. 

Kokkinakis pretty much said the same as Kyrgios, admitting it was special to win such a big title with his close friend.

“To be a Grand Slam champion with my boy, we have known each other since we were eight, nine years old, done some serious things together, have had some serious experiences, but this is incredible. We didn’t expect this at all,” Kokkinakis said after the final. 

It remains to be seen if Kyrgios and Kokkinakis can defend their Australian Open men’s doubles title.