Tennis Prose




Jan/22

29

King Kyrgios Silences His Critics

In a major suprise, wildcards Nick Kyrgios and Thanassi Kokkinakis won the AO Doubles titles by defeating unseeded Matt Ebden and Max Purcell 7-5 6-4.

Suddenly, the man called by some one of the biggest wastes of talent in the sport, is a Grand Slam champion, a feat that many renowned players were never able to accomplish in their careers.

Marcelo Rios, Todd Martin, Alex Corretja, Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych, Guillermo Coria, James Blake, David Nalbandian, Ivan Ljubicic, Nikolay Davydenko, Mark Philippoussis, Tommy Haas never managed to win a Grand Slam in singles, doubles or mixed but now Nick Kyrgios and Thanassi Kokkinakis are part of tennis Grand Slam history.

β€œI have won some big titles around the world, played some amazing matches. This one ranks [No.] 1 for me,” the 26 year old Kyrgios said after winning his eighth ATP title overall. β€œWhen 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.”

Currently ranked 115 in the world in singles (and 259 in doubles but this win will Vault Nick way up the rankings), Kyrgios has arrived at a crossroads point in his career. Will this monumental win spark something in his competitive soul and ignite a hunger and burning desire for more? With how many players capitalized on doubles success as a springboard for singles glory, could Kyrgios follow that traditional path and finally fully apply himself in singles – or will he continue to confound the tennis world by continuing to blaze his own unpredictable trail by letting the chips fall wherever the hell they may fall?

The last time Kyrgios played doubles was at 2021 Laver Cup with John Isner, they lost to Rublev and Tsitsipas 7-6 3-6 4-10. Kyrgios went 3-5 in doubles last year playing also with Tiafoe and Sock.

Last year at AO, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis also played togther but with only mediocre success. The Aussie duo defeated Lloyd Harris and Julian Knowle in the first round 6-2 6-4 before losing to Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot 3-6 4-6.

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