Kia Arena turned into a zoo and Aussie stars Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were the hyped up main attractions as they extended their Australian Open doubles run into a semi-final with a fiery three-set win over No.6 seeds Michael Venus and Tim Putz.
The Australian duo took care of business in an often tense encounter that was at times overshadowed by a wild crowd, riding the wave to a 7-5 3-6 6-3 win.
“Unreal scenes… I’m not finished, I want to win this f—ing thing to be honest,” Kyrgios said during his on-court interview after the win.
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Kokkinakis then encouraged the carnival atmosphere in the stands, telling the crowd to “sink piss and come here” for their next match as he urged tournament organisers to keep the ‘Special Ks’ on Kia Arena.
“When we walk through that tunnel, there’s no feeling like it – seeing the stands packed, we don’t want anything else, this is perfect,” Kokkinakis said.
“I haven’t played in a singles or doubles match like this, hopefully (tournament director) Craig [Tiley] is watching and keeps us on this court.
“The rowdier the better from everyone honestly. Sink piss and come here.”
The atmosphere at Kia Arena left former Australian tennis stars Todd Woodbridge and Sam Groth stunned while calling the match on Nine.
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“Can you ever remember an atmosphere like this?” Woodbridge asked Groth.
Groth replied: “I remember playing in Glasgow against the Murray brothers alongside Lleyton Hewitt in a Davis Cup semi-final and that was an intense atmosphere, it was a tennis crowd.
“I don’t feel like this is your normal tennis fans in the stadium right now, this is something I haven’t seen before.”
The crowd noise between points stirred debate on social media with pundits split on the behaviour of noisy fans between points.
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Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will face No.3 seeded pair Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos on Thursday for a place in the Australian Open final.
During the post-match press conference, Kyrgios spoke on the success he and Kokkinakis are having with the Australian Open fans in attendance this summer.
“I think this Australian Open, I think with everything the people have gone through, they just are just so happy to see Aussies have success,” Kyrgios told reporters.
“Demon (Alex de Minaur) in the fourth round and us kind of carrying the flag in doubles a little bit.
“This Australian Open, honestly, I think for us it’s more about the people, playing for them is more important than our doubles success.
“I just want to play and give the people of Australia and the Australian Open a show and genuinely try and grow the sport of tennis
“We are not special people. We’re normal humans that you might see walking in Australia, and we are now in the semifinals of a Grand Slam.
“I feel like I think we are just relatable. I think that’s what’s the best thing about it.
“They go out and get behind their mates. Most of the guys in the crowd are our mates. We’ve got our team members that have been through injuries.
“In Thanasi’s case and me, we’ve been around in some dark times. I guess tennis has always had personalities, and they have just really struggled to understand that there are different ways to go about it.
“You’ve got Roger Federer and these guys that are just once-in-a-generation athletes.
“I can’t be like that. We’re not like that. I feel it has to be people that are, I guess a little bit more relatable.”
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