- The Australian crashed out of the second round in a five-set thriller
- He and Kyrgios won the men’s doubles title in 2022.
Thanasi Kokkinakis admits his debilitating pectoral muscle injury will likely force him to withdraw from his long-awaited ‘Special Ks’ doubles meeting with Nick Kyrgios.
While Alex de Minaur will headline the Aussies’ action on Thursday, there was also plenty of anticipation surrounding the doubles action scheduled for the evening session.
Kokkinakis and Kyrgios, the 2022 champions, were scheduled to face compatriots Aleksandar Vukic and James Duckworth in their first-round match on Thursday night.
Both had previously publicly declared their commitment to making a comeback in doubles after capturing the nation’s attention in their exciting and fun run to the title.
“Yes, Thanasi and I think we owe it to each other to go out and play,” Kyrgios had said after his elimination in the first round of singles.
But unfortunately, reality is about to get in the way again.
Kokkinakis grimaces in pain as he receives treatment for a debilitating injury during his loss to Jack Draper at the Australian Open on Wednesday night.
The South Australian has all but confirmed that the body blow will force him out of men’s doubles competition with partner Nick Kyrgios (pictured en route to winning the title at the 2022 Australian Open).
While Kyrgios’ injuries were the problem for the last two years, this time it is Kokkinakis who is responsible for pulling the pin.
Kokkinakis battled his pectoral problem during his marathon second-round loss to 15th seed Jack Draper, later confirming it was a long-standing problem that had put him through “mental and physical torture.”
He admitted he would probably have to retire from doubles as another long period on the sidelines awaits him.
“I feel like I’m letting him (Kyrgios) down, I’m letting people down, but yeah, I don’t know,” Kokkinakis said Wednesday night.
‘Tomorrow I won’t be able to lift my arm. Then we’ll see.
“Unless we’re both playing with serves under our arms, it seems pretty unlikely.”
The news comes after tennis expert Will Boucek said Kyrgios could become the number one doubles player on the planet following his exit from the men’s singles tournament at the Open on Monday.
Had he won, Kokkinakis would have faced Vukic in the third round, who had an emotional victory over Sebastian Korda.
For his part, Vukic has no plans to achieve victory, despite his first pass to the last 32 of a Grand Slam.
‘Me? No no. I just talked to my partner, Duckworth,” Vukic said.
The loss and the ongoing drama of his injury are a blow to Kokkinakis and Australian fans who were eager to see a repeat of his title run with Kyrgios.
‘We thought: ‘Are we okay? We’re ok. Come on.’
“So there’s no chance.”
World number 8, De Minaur, will face American Tristan Boyer, who makes his debut at the Rod Laver Arena, in his attempt to reach the round of 16 for the fourth time.
Australian wild card Tristan Schoolkate has the ominous task of taking on reigning champion and world number one Jannik Sinner under the lights of Rod Laver Arena.
Fellow wild card James McCabe, 21, will face American Alex Michelsen on court three.
Elsewhere, Destanee Aiava, the only local woman left in the draw, will hope to continue her surprising career resurrection when she takes on No. 10 seed Danielle Collins at the Kia Arena.
Former champions Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata will begin their campaign against top seeds Marcelo Arévalo and Mate Pavic.
In women’s doubles, local Ellen Pérez and Belgian Elise Mertens, sixth favorites, will face Australians Jaimee Fourlis and Petra Hule.