It was double delight for the Australian crowd on Saturday (January 29) as the pair of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis created history to become the first wildcard pair to win men's doubles title at a major tournament. 7-5, 6-4 win over fellow Australian duo of Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell saw them join Ashleigh Barty, who clinched the women's singles title earlier in the day.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis right on the money in the first set
With an all Australian Open men's doubles final, the wildcard pair meant business right from the start. Kyrgios, mainly focused on the backhand volleys to keep Ebden and Purcell at bay. With five unforced errors in the first set, Ebden and Purcell gave away four break points in the first set, of which one was converted in the 11th game of the first set. Kyrgios and Kokkinakis made no mistake to close the set by 7-5.
Kyrgios serves for glory
Ebden and Purcell served first in the second set, which gave a mental advantage to the experienced pair. But that was rubbed off in the seventh game when a forehand winner made all the difference. Again it was the veteran Kyrgios, who made the difference with his serve as they pumped in 94 per cent first serves. Ultimately, it was Kyrgios who had the final say with his relentless service game to create history and win the title.
Giant-killing form
The pair were enjoyed the Australian summer with some big giant-killing form. They knocked out no.1 seed and tournament favourites Mektic and Pavic in straight sets in the second round. 15th seed Behar and Escobar gave a tough fight but were dispatched in three sets in the third round. Sixth seed Puetz and Venus were beaten in a tough battle that lasted two hours and 15 minutes. Lastly, in the semi-final, they knocked out third seed Granollers and Zeballos in straight sets to book their place in the final.
Icing on the cake with cherries on the top for Australia
Earlier in the day, home favourite Ashleigh Barty beat Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 in a remarkable women's singles final. The win ended Australia's 44-year drought for a singles champion at the Melbourne Park. Kyrgios and Kokkinakis also joined the party with celebrations of their own later in the day.
Wildcard major champions
The shades Goran Ivanisevic and Kim Clijsters were freshened, as Kyrgios and Kokkinakis won the Australian Open. Ivanisevic famously won the Wimbledon title in 2001 when he was a wildcard entrant beating Australia's Patrick Rafter in a thrilling final. Kim Clijsters, also repeated the feat when she won the 2009 US Open, beating Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
Post-match reaction
“Nick I love you brother,” Kokkinakis said on-court after the match.
“Man, I can honestly say we did not expect to even come close to this but with the help of you guys all week it has been unbelievable. The coverage it got and the support it got, the coverage, we couldn’t ask for anything more,” Kokkinakis added.
“Max has been to a finals twice and Matty has had a hell of a career. I’m just super happy. I don’t even know how we are doing this or what is going on right now to be brutally honest,” Kyrgios said in his post-match interview.
