Tears for Thanasi, grins for Nick as Special Ks make their return

Nick Kyrgios could not have looked more at ease on Pat Rafter Arena on Sunday night.

As if to prove it, he briefly swayed his hips in time to the Katy Perry song blasting out from the stadium PA.

Thanasi Kokkinakis could only grin.

Welcome to the party — the Special Ks are back.

A sleepy Sunday evening in Queensland on day one of the Brisbane International could never hope to match the high-octane atmosphere of a Melbourne Park night session, but that barely mattered.

Kyrgios positively skipped his way onto court for the warm up, incongruously wearing a hoody in the soupy, 28-degree pre-storm humidity of the Brisbane evening.

A picture of ease, tossing the ball between his legs as he skipped into position and smiling as he exchanged warm up strokes with opponent Matt Ebden.

Those opponents were not a pairing to sneer at, either.

Matt Ebden is a three-time grand slam doubles winner and reigning Olympic champion.

Rajeev Ram has six majors and two Olympic medals in his locker.

Both are former world number ones in doubles and arguably amongst the best practitioners of the two-person game around.

So it was not necessarily a surprise that Kokkinakis and Kyrgios succumbed to the two established veterans opposite them 7-5 in the first set.

But then Kokkinakis found his groove and the Special Ks fought back valiantly to take the second 6-4 and set up a game tie break in the third, which they went on to take 10-8 to the delight of the crowd.

Like we said, the Special Ks are back.

“We knew we had quality opponents. It’s just like riding a bike when we came back,” Kokkinakis said on court.

Perhaps so, but given the injury woes that Kokkinakis had faced over the past 12 months, it understandably took a little bit of time to get the wheels turning.

That’s why, despite Kyrgios being the main attraction tonight, it is perhaps it’s better to focus first on Kokkinakis.

Playing competitively for the first time since the 2025 Australian Open doubles after a year blighted by injury, Kokkinakis needs court time more than anything else.

Surgery on his pectoral muscle, removing a lot of the damaged muscle and using a cadaver Achilles tendon to attach the remaining muscle to his shoulder was groundbreaking.

It had never been done before in tennis.

“There’s been days where it’s OK other days where I’m like, there’s no chance I’m playing again,” Kokkinakis said. 

“So yeah, to be on the court, especially with Nick, was a special feeling and yeah, it’s been a it’s been a very rocky road this year and I’m trying to take it one day at a time.”

Kokkinakis admits there are still unknowns about his recovery. He attended the post-match press conference with his shoulder iced.

But on court it clearly worked, the 29-year-old showing some delightful touches, hitting a handful of superb winners both cross court and down the line.

It was he who was visibly the more sprightly of the pair. Visibly the fresher.

And visibly the more emotional when the match finished.

“It’s crazy. I haven’t played a match in 12 months,” Kokkinakis said, tears brimming in his eyes as he spoke.

“It’s been a long year, a challenging one, a lot of times that I thought the game was done for me.

“It’s doubles but it means everything.”

Kokkinakis is not down to play in the singles tournament in Brisbane, his solo preparation will take place in Adelaide next week.

Kyrgios is though.

And although he may not appear to be taking things as seriously — he alluded to a night out he had on Saturday in Brisbane as “pretty good” while hailing the tournament as one that he loved — he clearly enjoyed himself on court.

“Whether we win or lose we always have the best time together,” Kyrgios said.

“I never thought I’d see the day when we’d be doing extended warm ups.”

That quip was just in keeping with the overall tenor of the match.

As is so often the case in doubles were moments of both levity and farce, the line between both frequently blurred as Kyrgios joked and smiled with Kokkinakis and the crowd court side.

Tennis’ governing bodies seem hell bent on sacrificing doubles in a bid to reduce player loads as ever more demands are made on players across a catastrophic crush of a calendar — so why not treat them as exhibition style follies?

Arguably there’s nobody better to do so.

Kyrgios acted the clown when a fierce Kokkinakis serve whizzed just centimetres over his cap, exaggerating his fear with all the subtlety of an actor in a silent slapstick film.

But moments later he displayed a showman’s touch with a no-look, spinning volley at the net that had the crowd in raptures.

This type of exhibitionism is his forte, mixing undoubted class with comedic qualities better suited to your local stand up club.

A gorgeous angled drop shot again had a game crowd ready to erupt, Kyrgios accepting their acclaim with a flourish, theatrically repeating the shot to an admirer in the front row.

One punter opined “show off” from the upper deck.

Kyrgios’ smile suggested he agreed.

“I feel like I’ve reached this point in my career, even on the singles court, I do stupid things and I kind of just do whatever I feel like doing,” Kyrgios said. 

“But doubles kind of gives me a bit more, I guess, a show to put on and I feel like that’s when we play our best doubles is when we actually find our balance and not taking it too seriously, but also just in like locking it in certain moments, just enjoying it.

“We have so much fun and I had so much fun out there tonight and it was an incredibly high level.”

Kokkinakis agreed.

“We’re very different, but sometimes I don’t know what he’s gonna do and that’s the balance you gotta find,” he said.

“From my position, I’ve gotta focus on myself and know when to reign him in a little bit. 

“But that’s what makes him so good, when he has that flair and has that little bit of fun and the opponents don’t know what’s coming. 

“And I think the crowd feels that, my energy gets better and then when we go on a roll like back end of the second set and super tie break, that’s when we play our best.” 

Proving that bit of levity in a competitive world is no bad thing.