MELBOURNE, Australia — Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis entered on a wild card and were dubbed the Special Ks on their wild ride to the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open.
With a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Matt Ebden and Max Purcell on Saturday, the longtime friends became the first homegrown pairing to win the men’s doubles title in Australia since Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, aka the Woodies, in 1997.
And this was only their fourth Grand Slam event as a team.
The pair, who won the Wimbledon boys’ doubles title nearly nine years ago, never faced a break point in a dominant performance in a final that started at Rod Laver Arena after Ash Barty‘s similarly drought-breaking women’s singles title.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis conceded only two sets in six matches on a run to the title that included wins over the No. 1 and No. 3 teams.
“What a week,” Kokkinakis said. “I can…
