Australian tennis royalty Pat Rafter has given his blessing to the jolt of Kyrgios/Kokkinakis energy that has revitalised the Australian Open.
Nick Kyrgios and Thansi Kokkinakis will play a doubles quarterfinal against Tim Putz and Michael Venus this afternoon after the thrilling 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over 15th seeds Gonzalo Escobar and Ariel Behar.
A combination of the Novak Djokovic debacle, COVID-19 crowd restrictions and Roger Federer’s absence were threatening to take some shine off the Grand Slam tournament.
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But Kyrgios and Kokkinakis are now one of the hottest tickets in town as doubles fervour hits levels perhaps not seen in Melbourne since the days of ‘The Woodies.’
“They’ve really brought a lot of energy to the tournament,” Rafter said on Nine.
“To see them light it up with this crowd – it’s a whole different atmosphere that the Australian Open has got going on right now.
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“It’s like a circus, it’s crazy it’s wild, the fans are different.”
Rafter admitted he “struggled for a little bit” to accept the brash new crowd energy surrounding the ‘Special Ks.’
“I’ve got my head around it now… doubles, you can have a lot more fun in it, and these guys are just lighting the crowd up,” he said.
“I’m actually a bit of a fan for it and it’s great for tennis. Ask anyone who goes to watch these guys play. That’s what tennis needs. I love seeing it.”
Kia Arena will be heaving again for this afternoon’s quarter-final and Tony Jones asked Rafter if there was “no turning back” for tennis.
“It appears so,” Rafter replied.
“But not everyone can do what these guys do either. They love that type of thing… They bring a different crew along.”
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