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'Electric': Kyrgios and Kokkinakis pull off insane Aus Open upset

Chris Young
·Sports Reporter
·5-min read
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the Australian Open men's doubles.
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis pulled off a huge upset in the men's doubles, ousting top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in straight sets. Pictures: Getty Images

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have pulled off a wildly unlikely upset in the men's doubles, sending top-seeded Croatian duo Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic home in straight sets.

Combining after both suffered early exits from the singles draw, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis won a thrilling first set tiebreaker before storming through the second set to win 7-6, 6-3 against the pre-tournament favourites.

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Less than 24 hours after his enthralling four-set battle against world No.2 Daniil Medvedev, Kyrgios looked just as sharp as he had the night before as he and Kokkinakis dismantled the Croatian duo.

While not quite as rowdy as the Rod Laver Arena crowd that drew Medvedev's ire the night before, Melbourne Park's show court arena was nevertheless packed to the rafters to witness the pair's thrilling win.

Gold medallists at the Tokyo Olympics last year, Mektic and Pavic have now been knocked out of their last two grand slams in the early rounds by unranked opponents.

Fans were raving about the packed house for a second round double match, with many taking to social media to point out the rarity of such a crowd.

The arena had no allocated seating and only a ground pass was required for entry, making the Kyrgios-Kokkinakis pairing an enticing opportunity for fans in Melbourne.

Kecmanovic continues his best major run after Djokovic saga

Miomir Kecmanovic's vow to avenge his deported countryman Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open is looking more prescient by the day.

Having been drawn to play the nine-time Open champion in the opening round this year, there is every chance world No.77 Kecmanovic would already be back home in Serbia if not for the intervention of Immigration Minister Alex Hawke and the Federal Court.

Instead, the unvaccinated Djokovic made the enforced early exit and now the unheralded Kecmanovic is through to the last 16 at Melbourne Park following a 6-4 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 7-5 victory over Italian No.25 seed Lorenzo Sonego on Friday.

It marks quite the step up in class for Kecmanovic, who had never gone further than the second round in any of his previous 11 grand slam appearances.

Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia has enjoyed a dream run to the Australian Open fourth round, aided by the absence of countryman Novak Djokovic. (Photo by Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images)
Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia has enjoyed a dream run to the Australian Open fourth round, aided by the absence of countryman Novak Djokovic. (Photo by Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

"It's unbelievable," Kecmanovic said.

"A week ago I was supposed to play the world No.1 and didn't have much of a chance there, but now I'm in the last 16.

"I'm happy that I was able to use this chance and that I've been playing some really good tennis."

Next up is a challenging fourth-round encounter against Gael Monfils, who beat Chilean 16th seed Cristian Garin 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-3.

It's been quite the turn-around at Melbourne Park for the French showman, who crashed out in the opening round in 2021 and was at a loss as to how he would end a "nightmare" run of form.

"To be honest, I tried to not even remember last year," the No.17 seed said.

"I just can say that I'm here, I'm good, I feel good.

"I've worked hard and I've just been playing great tennis for many months now."

With AAP

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