AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2022

Nick Kyrgios

Thanasi Kokkinakis

Press Conference

KYRGIOS-KOKKINAKIS/Escobar-Behar

6-4, 4-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations today. How are you feeling after that win?

NICK KYRGIOS: Amazing, obviously. Another win at the AO, you're not going to take that for granted. And we didn't know much about our opponents today, but obviously seeded, so they have had success, had a great year last year. And they were tricky, honestly, the way they served, they served incredibly well, we didn't have many second serve looks at all, maybe a handful.

But again, the ups and downs of that match, we were a bit flat in the second but then responded well and to do it with an Aussie again and this is actually our best run in a Grand Slam ever. So I think we've come with age and matured a little bit, I know I have definitely. So I'm just excited to, I'm going to do everything I can tonight, get a good rest, recover, train. Listen to me.

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: I'm impressed. I like it.

NICK KYRGIOS: And I'll be ready to go. I definitely think we've got a good shot at winning this.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. You said on the court, Nick, that yeah, you can win it, like you've beaten a top seed, another top-seeded opponent tonight today. I know you guys play to entertain, but is winning a Grand Slam doubles title now like high on the priorities?

NICK KYRGIOS: No, yeah, usually either I'm either going deep in singles or we just lose a bit of focus in doubles and things like that and don't win the big points, but I definitely feel a different type of feel, honestly, I feel like favorites out there with doubles. The way he's playing, he's obviously very confident over the last month he's had, which is amazing to see, but I don't know, I feel like we're locked in we're definitely, I don't know, it's probably the best doubles we've played together. And I know the crowd's a bit loose and stuff, but we are locking in in certain moments where in the past it's been tough to and I think that's come with experience as well.

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: I think focus has been the biggest difference this year as opposed to other years. Last year it was tough, it was about seven people in the stands with the COVID and everything, but this year having that crowd support, you see how much it helps, it feels like a party atmosphere out there. And I think when he we enjoy ourselves, first and foremost, I think that brings the best focus out of us.

Q. You said that the banter on court was 90 percent social and 10 percent tactics. Now you've come this far, have we changed that percentage?

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Maybe a little bit more.

NICK KYRGIOS: We have changed it for sure. That's what I mean, we're just locked in. We're talking about, we're, I know that I'm definitely in a different mindset, I don't know what's happened, I have never been --

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: The man's getting older, he's maturing.

NICK KYRGIOS: I am, I am, I am. Fuck me dead. But yeah I don't know. I feel different. Like I feel as if in the past when I played doubles I feel like I haven't made enough, I haven't done enough on court and now I'm making more returns than I used to, I'm trying to I guess lead by example in a way.

But he's playing great as well. This is the best tennis I think I've been on court with him. He's playing great.

Q. Do you reckon you brought a new dimension to doubles tennis with what you've done the last week?

NICK KYRGIOS: Can I just answer this?

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Go ahead.

NICK KYRGIOS: We are bringing (laughing) the game to new levels. Not just on the doubles court. I saw the TV ratings up like 45 percent, mate, let's just get this clear.

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: He's happy.

NICK KYRGIOS: No, but like let's just be honest. Like people come to see him play because he's exciting. We need it for the sport.

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: I definitely think we're very different to your sort of generic doubles players. I mean we, at the end of the day, it's entertaining. And he's a bit more showboaty than I am, but that's just our personalities and I think we compliment each other really well. I love playing with him, it's so much fun. As I said, we get along off the court well and I think the fans and everyone on TV can see that sort of friendship and it's authentic, we just have fun out there and I think the crowd gets behind it. And I think that's what so different it feels like a Davis Cup atmosphere every time we play. And we feel like we got more people watching sometimes than guys who are going deep in singles. And I think at the end of the day that's what it's all about, it's entertainment and having fun.

Q. Can you put a number on sort of what that crowd does for you? Does it give you, what sort of edge does it give you?

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: It's hard to put a number on it but we definitely love it, that's for sure, we wouldn't want it any other way. I think a great day for it, weekend, people get smashed in the tents and then they come and support us. That's why we love playing Australian Open.

So I don't know if we can put a number on it, but we definitely would much rather have it that way for sure.

Q. Nick, you spoke after your singles game about sort of embrace this, this is the future of the sport. Where would you like to see tennis in say five, 10 years? What would it look like from a crowd point of view. What's your dream?

NICK KYRGIOS: I just think that tennis has done a really poor job with accepting personalities in the past. I think they have kind of really only marketed three players for the last decade and now it's kind of caught up with them, so hence they have tried to push some of the Next Gen guys, which I think some of them are really exciting I really like the two young Canadians, I think can really do some special things in the sport.

But tennis has really struggled to embrace different personalities, like when people go about it differently. Like something about Thanasi when I watch him play singles it glues me to the TV, whether he's losing or whether he's winning, it's just the way he goes about it.

I think tennis needs to embrace that more. You look at the match against me and Medvedev, you couldn't have two polar opposite kind of personalities going up against it, but the actual quality of tennis was still to a pretty good level that I thought, and it was fun. It was like, at the end of the day I'm going to shake the man's hand and say, Too good, you were too good at the end of the day. But the match was fun to watch and I think tennis just needs to push that I think, a lot. Otherwise...

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Dying.

NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, it's in trouble.

Q. Can you shed some light as to what happened after your last game in the locker room?

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Mate, it was pretty funny, I'm not going to lie. Me and Nick, trying to be professionals, so we went in the gym after our doubles match, maybe one of the first times ever.

I'm going to be honest, it was Pavic's fitness trainer and he came up and he smashed a foam roller against a pole as hard as he can and I thought he was kind of joking, I wasn't sure if he was about to berate his players. And he came up to Nick and said we're being disrespectful and we, Nick hit the opponent with a ball, but that's normal, these doubles players got unbelievable hand so you have to go at 'em. And they said we were showboating, but I'm sure if we played away in Croatia it would have been the same thing. So it was just our energy and I think at the end of the day they were a bit salty they lost, because they've won their fair share of tournaments, so I don't know, I thought they would handle losing a little better than that, but at the end of the day we're just trying to entertain the crowd, we didn't mean anything disrespectful, we're trying to get ourselves and our energy up. It was all aggressive on his part though for sure.

NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, just enjoyed it flat out.

Q. To both you guys, Thanasi, what's the best thing about playing alongside Nick, and Nick, what's the best thing playing alongside Thanasi?

THANASI KOKKINAKIS: We're probably going to have similar answers, but we just get along off the court. We got a lot of the same interests, we have fun, we're mates first and foremost. I said before in interview, there's a lot of doubles pairings that just play because they're good together, but they don't actually enjoy each other's company off the court and I think that's what makes us who we are.

Whether we win or lose we generally enjoy our time together and have fun out there and I think for me that's my favorite part is entertaining. Sometimes I just got to let him do his thing and have the show when he runs around like that, but I love it, it's so much fun.