Thanasi Kokkinakis gives himself and Nick Kyrgios no chance of defending their unlikely Australian Open doubles title, while offering a frank assessment of the hyper focus on his close friend.
The “Special Ks” will again be front and centre when the Open begins on Monday, with both prioritising singles and willing to sacrifice their doubles title defence if their solo pursuits take them deep into the tournament.
Nick Kyrgios is unfairly targeted by the media, according to Thanasi Kokkinakis.Credit:Getty Images
Kokkinakis, who plays Italy’s Fabio Fognini on Tuesday, arrives in Melbourne fresh from an excellent week in Adelaide, where he upset world No.6 Andrey Rublev on his way to the semi-finals.
Kyrgios, on the other hand, is yet to play competitively this summer due to ankle and knee issues.
But Australia’s top-ranked player still dominated the headlines leading into his home grand slam, including as the star attraction in the Netflix documentary Break Point and becoming a part-owner of NBL club South East Melbourne Phoenix.
“I think some of the stuff he does that maybe people see as negative gets thrown in the spotlight a little bit more than others because maybe he’s had a reputation for it,” Kokkinakis said.
“A few things, if other players did it, wouldn’t be as focused on as when Nick does it. He’s no saint at the same time. He’s done a couple of things that probably warranted [negative coverage].
“I think some of the stuff is unfair. At the end of the day, he’s just finding a way to try and do as well as he can. There’s a lot of pressure on him. He feels like he’s trying to do as well as he can.
“Sometimes he copes with it. Everyone copes with stuff in different ways. He had a phenomenal year last year, and he’s going to continue to give it his all.”
Kokkinakis and Kyrgios captured the nation’s attention with their stunning doubles title run at Melbourne Park, particularly with the exuberant way they did it.
“Last year was something we didn’t expect,” Kokkinakis said.
Doubles champs: Kokkinakis and Kyrgios with their trophy after last year’s successful Open campaign.Credit:Getty Images
“I remember people messaged me after every match we won being like, ‘You’re going to win this thing’ and I’m like, ‘No, someone’s going to beat us. We’re going to lose to a doubles team, for sure’.
“It became a possibility from the quarter-finals, a legit thought, ‘We can be better than these guys; we can win’ … [but] if I was to say I’m expecting to back it up, I’d be lying.”
Kokkinakis believes he is playing better than this time last year – when he landed in Melbourne fresh from his maiden ATP Tour title in Adelaide – and hopes to prove that after a disappointing first-round loss in 2022.
Some fans even resorted to sledging him from the stands as he struggled to get a foothold in the match.
“At the start it was all cheers, obviously. Then when things weren’t going too well, I was copping a bit. It’s just part of it,” Kokkinakis said.
“You kind of expect it after the crowd’s had a few too many during the later part of the day. [It is] nothing personal – just a couple of rowdy fans having a go. It’s fine.”
‘My lowest ebb’: Aussie rising star on what horror season taught him
Once upon a time, Alexei Popyrin would have known American star Taylor Fritz was almost certainly waiting for him in the Australian Open’s second round.
But that was the old Popyrin, the one who scratched together only five wins on the main tour last year in a horror follow-up season to his first ATP title and reaching his career-high ranking of No.59.
The 2017 French Open junior champion even hoped at the start of 2022 that he could end it by challenging Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur for Australia’s No.1 ranking.
Twelve months on, the year from hell has humbled Popyrin, who admits he got way ahead of himself and made a litany of errors on and off court that led to his fall from grace.
He starts the Open ranked 113 in the world and with a new coach since October, Belgian former top-20 player Xavier Malisse, and mostly fresh team around him.
A quarter-final appearance in Adelaide last week after qualifying, including a titanic upset of sixth-ranked Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, was evidence, Popyrin said, that everything was turning around.
“We [he and Malisse] started working together when I was probably at my lowest. I was outside the top 100 in March, then I got back inside the top 100, then in October I was outside the top 100 again,” Popyrin said.
“That, for me, was a really big problem … I went into the American swing thinking I could win at least some matches on the ATP Tour, and I got into the main draw of some 250s and a 500 in Tokyo, and I wasn’t able to do anything – I wasn’t able to even produce good tennis.
“The first thing he noticed [was my] negative mindset, which was understandable, considering the year I had, but that was the first thing, and also in practice I was quite negative.
“I wasn’t playing the kind of tennis I was capable of and that was really frustrating, even though I was trying to do everything I possibly can to get there.”
Malisse has taken it upon himself to be Popyrin’s positivity champion, showering the 23-year-old with every inspirational video or quote he can find on Instagram.
The young Australian is also taking responsibility to change things, starting with looking no further than his first-round return bout with Tseng Chun-hsin, who also goes by “Jason”, after winning their US Open clash last year.
Alexei Popyrin is staying focused on his first round match.Credit:AP
Asked if he knew about the potential Fritz match-up, Popyrin replied: “You just told me”.
Popyrin beat Tseng 6-3, 7-6(7-5), 7-6(7-3) in New York, but is wary about the challenge his junior peer poses. However, something he said he had none of was pressure.
“Honestly, no. I don’t feel pressure because I don’t have any points to defend, so my ranking can’t really drop any further than it already has,” Popyrin said.
“I remember that in October 2021, I was already thinking about the points I had to defend in February – and that’s something I can’t do … and probably won’t be doing again.
“But, right now, I feel no pressure at all coming into this AO, coming into the start of the year. I feel like I have a clean slate and can play my tennis, play freely and hopefully get my ranking up.”
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