Kokkinakis highlights importance of Kyrgios' engagement with crowd
ATP
Thanasi Kokkinakis explained why Nick Kyrgios' work with the crowd is so important during their participation at the 2022 ATP Finals.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis put on a show in their second match at the year-end competition in Turin. The Australians defeated Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek after being close to losing the match, as well as their chances of advancing at the 2022 ATP Finals.
With this win, they stayed in contention for a semi-final spot. The Special K's will play against Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in their last round-robin match, and to have a chance to make it to the semi-finals, they will have to beat the Croatians.
After their victory over Dodig and Krajicek, the 2022 Australian Open champions spoke about their mindset heading into the match. Kyrgios admitted that he was aware of the fact that a loss would mean their elimination from the event.
"I was thinking to myself, 'If we lose today, we [would be] out of the whole event, so I am going to go out and there and do what I can do.' We are the pair that is able to do that pretty much every time we play, so why don’t we use that to our advantage. The crowd was amazing and they got us over the line."
Kokkinakis, on the other hand, enjoyed the atmosphere and the way his doubles partner worked with the crowd. He spoke about the importance of Kyrgios in their team at the ATP Finals. Kokkinakis explained that the energy that Kyrgios was able to get from the crowd helped them to eventually win the match.
"It is a good energy and it lifted me. I started playing my best tennis after [Kyrgios] lifted [the crowd]. That is how we found it in Australia… So we loved it."
