Thanasi Kokkinakis would love to play with Nick Kyrgios in Melbourne, but it depends on the health of his best mate on the ATP Tour.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis have made some good memories in Melbourne together, winning the 2022 Australian Open doubles trophy. It came out of nowhere and is one of the fondest memories for both players but the fans would like to see more.
After Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata won the event last year, the Aussie crowd won't settle for foreign champions. They want the Special Ks back, and Kokkinakis is certainly open to it.
As he prepares for the new season in his native country, the Australian spoke to The Age with the 2024 season on his mind.
We'll see if he's healthy. If he's healthy, we'd love to play.
Fans are hoping to see Kyrgios play at the event, but it seems rather unlikely. Quite a few people have cast serious doubt about him being ready for the event. Kyrgios himself didn't sound very optimistic about his comeback, so we'll see.
Kokkinakis himself didn't sound too convinced that Kyrgios will be back but he did note that the sport needs Kyrgios back. That's pretty much a no-brainer.
We need the big fella fit and firing. We haven't played an Aussie Open since playing that doubles and having that atmosphere in that crowd, so we'll see if he's healthy.
Missing the Australian Open would be a catastrophe for Kyrgios as he missed last year's edition as well. Missing his home Slam twice is not good, and it further fuels talk about something seriously wrong with his body. This recovery has already taken far too long.
If he could play, he would, but he's not, so that means he can't play. Time will tell when he'll ultimately be ready to do so.
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