Nobody on the ATP Tour knows Nick Kyrgios as well as Thanasi Kokkinakis, who he grew up with and that's why he was asked about his partner.
The Special K's dominated the 2022 Australian Open doubles tournament and they are back in 2023 as many expect them to win again. However, Kokkinakis previously hinted that even they don't expect to win again, and they mostly focus on having fun on the tennis court.
During his press conference in Melbourne, Kokkinakis was also asked about his doubles partner Nick Kyrgios, who he knows really well. The Australian disclosed, that he thinks Kyrgios is not treated fairly, especially because of his past.
"I think sort of some of the stuff [Nick Kyrgios] does that maybe people see as negative gets thrown in the spotlight a little bit more than others because of maybe he's had a reputation for it. A few things, if other players did it, wouldn't be as sort of focused on as when Nick does it."
"He is no saint at the same time. He's done a couple things that are probably warranted. I think some of the stuff is unfair. At the end of the day he's just finding a way to try and do as well as he can. There's a lot of pressure on him. He feels like he's trying to do as well as he can. Sometimes he copes with it. Everyone copes with stuff in different ways. He had a phenomenal year last year. He's going to continue to give it his all."
The 2022 Australian Open doubles champion then also talked about his goals for the 2023 season, especially those in singles, as he's ranked lower than his doubles partner at the moment.
"I want to reach my career high again. I was able to do it last year. I think first time in seven years. I don't know if that's happened before, someone reaches their career high and then hits it again sort of seven years later. I'm going to try and beat that. My goal is try and win another title this year. I want to try to break into the top 50. I just want to be healthy and keep playing and improve my game. If I do that, then I think the ranking will follow."
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