Thanasi Kokkinakis hopes he and Nick Kyrgios will finally feel fully healthy when the time comes for the Australian Open and be able to give "a fair crack" to doubles at Melbourne Park for the first time since their 2022 triumphant run.
In January 2022, Kokkinakis and Kyrgios - who have known each other since their childhood - entered the Australian Open doubles tournament to have some fun and entertain the home crowd. They ended up doing much more than that after winning six matches and becoming Grand Slam champions together.
Just before the 2023 Australian Open, Kyrgios picked up a knee injury and had surgery. The following year, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist also had to skip his home Slam due to a wrist issue.
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In January 2025, Kyrgios returned to action after a two-year absence and teamed up with Kokkinakis for the Australian Open doubles. Going into the match, both dealt with physical issues and they ended up retiring midway through their first-round match against James Duckworth and Aleksandar Vukic.
Kokkinakis had surgery on his pectoral muscle and missed the rest of the year, while Kyrgios didn't play any tournaments after March due to a knee injury.
Kokkinakis targets to play the Australian Open doubles with Kyrgios
If all goes well, wed love to run it back at the Aussie Open. We havent given it a fair crack since we won. We were both injured this year when we played, so, yeah, the crowd loves it, and thats kind of why were doing it," the 29-year-old said on TODAY.
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Kokkinakis, who will turn 30 in April, had a very complicated procedure earlier this year when the surgeons cut an Achilles tendon graft from a deceased person and used it to reconnect the pectoral to the Australian's shoulder.
Im hoping this will still give me some five or six years. Id rather take a few more good years than five or six years of not being able to be at my peak. I had to take a chance and take a risk, and Im willing to live with the result," the 2022 Adelaide champion said.
