Kyrgios can shine on Australian Open return: Kokkinakis

With his weapon of a serve in hand, tennis showman Nick Kyrgios can hit the ground running on his Australian Open return, says close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Kyrgios, 29, who has had a horror run of wrist and knee injuries, will play at the Brisbane International from December 29, before returning to the grand slam stage at Melbourne Park, which starts on January 12.

He is using a protected ranking for his first Open since 2022, having pulled out on the eve of his first-round match in 2023.

"It's gonna be great for tennis, great for fans in Australia, fans all over the world," Kokkinakis said.

"He's a a different cat. Obviously has a different sort of energy about him, and he's a hell of a player, so I think people are going to love having him back.

"It's been a long time coming. I think he's been ready for a while now to play, but I think he wanted to make sure he's really ready (before) he steps back, so hopefully he can stay healthy."

Asked if he could see Kyrgios hitting the ground running, Kokkinakis said: "Yeah, definitely.

"(He's a) super-talented player. With that serve you almost don't even need to play that well at times to give yourself a chance.

"So if his body's in good nick, which I'm sure it will be, yeah, for sure. He's always a dangerous threat."

Both players may need to focus on singles, rather than revisiting their Open-winning doubles heroics from 2022.

"Doubles is a tricky one, because everyone loved it last time, we loved it, it was so much fun," Kokkinakis said.

"It's definitely not going to be the priority for us. We feel like we owe it to people to get back out there and have some fun.

"It's not something we've practised, but yeah, singles is definitely the goal. It's a tricky one. If you have a big five-setter, with all due respect, the last thing you want to do is go out and play doubles the next day, but we'll play it by ear and see how it goes."

Kokkinakis is used to answering questions about his high-profile mate.

"I remember in Turin, he rocked up late, and all I heard is 'where is Nick?'" he laughed.

World No.77 Kokkinakis, 28, is aiming to stay healthy, make the Open third round for the first time and rise up the rankings.

"As far as sort of consistent big wins and my tennis level, it (2024) is as good as I've been," he said.

"I'm going to use it as a springboard for this year coming up.

"I feel like my tennis is right there with the top guys, and I feel like I'm really knocking on the door. I've just got to keep working hard and not take my foot off the gas.

"Top 50 is the next push for me and I think I don't need to stop there. I think I can keep going."