Australian Open 2021: Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis storm into doubles quarters

Aussie tennis stars Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis are through to the quarter finals in the men’s doubles at the Australian Open after an epic three set thriller. 

The pair defeated Gonzalo Escobar and Ariel Behar 6-4 4-6 6-4 in front of a packed arena at Melbourne Park , just two days after causing a huge upset against the top seed Croatians Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić.

It was the first time the Aussie duo had dropped a set during the grand slam.

Kyrgios and Kokkinakis’ post-match celebrations brought roars from the delighted crowd as Kyrgios’ new girlfriend Costeen Hatzi proudly watched on.

The post-match interview was almost as entertaining as the match itself.

‘Oh man, that was pretty easy,’ Kyrgios joked afterwards.

‘These guys were tough. They served well, it was incredibly tough to get any rhythm on their return but the energy of Thanasi… it’s just a pleasure to play with you brother.

The pair paid tribute to the crowd which spurred them to victory.

‘The atmosphere was insane, you guys were unreal,’ Kyrgios said.

Kokkinakis added: We play for fun but coming out here, we want to impress you guys. The atmosphere was unbelievable.’

The pair also looked back on their long-standing bromance which goes back to playing doubles together at the tournament as juniors in 2013.

‘I’ve known the big fella since he was a chubby kid from Canberra,’ Kokkinakis said.

‘We’ve been through a lot together.’

The pair taking it one match at a time.

‘We don’t anything for granted,’ Kyrgios said.

Aussies will be cheering on world number one Ash Barty in her fourth round clash against unseeded American Anisimova on Rod Laver Arena. 

 More to come.