The unseeded pairing of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis are just two wins away from an extraordinary men’s doubles grand slam title after a crazy quarterfinal that had everything.
Kia Arena was a cacophony of noise as the ‘Special Ks’ took the opening set against No.6 seeds in German Tim Puetz and New Zealand’s Michael Venus.
Kyrgios was perhaps a little too pumped up when he smashed a ball into the ground which went directly into the crowd and struck 9-year-old Fin Crane.
Crane put on a brave face and Kyrgios gave him a present for his troubles.
There was a lot of tension and passion on display from all four players and the shot clock was again a talking point with Kyrgios taking aim at what he saw as inconsistencies about when the shot clock starts.
The umpire had her work cut out trying to keep the vocal crowd in check.
The no.6 seeds hit back in the match and took it to a decider.
There was plenty of drama late in the second set when the German Puetz stopped his service motion a number of times because of the crowd noise.
The Aussie pair thought it was excessive how many times he stopped but the umpire said it was justified.
“You can’t serve when the crowd is going like this,” Mark Philippoussis said in commentary.
The Australians held their nerve and got the break in the third set.
Nick Kyrgios had the job of serving out the match and he delivered to pull off another upset win and proving that two singles players can be a force in doubles.
“I’m not finished, I want to win this f***ing thing,” Kyrgios said post-match.
His teammate urged fans to “sink piss and come down” for Thursday’s semi.
Earlier, tennis fans have had a field day on social media after some strange scheduling decisions from Channel Nine who had to juggle a men’s quarterfinal as well as the doubles.
Initially, Channel Nine had the Rafael Nadal-Denis Shapovalov game on their main channel with a reminder to fans that they could watch the Kyrgios doubles match on the 9Now streaming service.
Fans pointed out that in the first week of the tournament the Nine Network were showing multiple games on their other channels outside of streaming including 9Gem and 9GO depending on where you were in Australia.
But with fewer matches on in the second week of the tournament Nine chooses not to use its multi-channels.
With a backlash on social media, the Nadal quarterfinal was then replaced by the Kyrgios doubles and Nine did their best to keep fans updated on both matches but it infuriated tennis fans.
There was drama on both courts with Shapovalov accusing the umpire of being corrupt in his match against Nadal.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Ah, I see. Sorry - it just seemed like you came in all angry with some clumsy personal insults, immediately made it apparent that you have little understanding of tennis, or cricket (which wasn’t even being discussed) then tried to pretend that you didn’t care after you realised you were looking foolish. Also some Mixed metaphors and bad English. But it was all actually just practice for when you have some really high level discussions with really intelligent people. Where you actually speak with authority about things you understand. I get it now. Cool.
Dan
Roar Rookie
Your article was just a lot of words that actually said very little. My responses were just me sparing with the low hanging fruit. Keeps me sharp for when I debate people with actual intelligence and something proper to say.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Playing definitely helps in this case. That article made you care enough to to post 3 responses and even make up a whole backstory about me. Must have really got your imagination firing.
Dan
Roar Rookie
Yeah because you need to be a player to know anything about a sport. I think you’re over estimating everyone’s care factor dude considering the length of that earlier article :laughing:
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Yeah, could tell you weren’t a player.
Dan
Roar Rookie
:laughing: been watching both for 40 plus years so I think I’m fine.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Nah - I’m just someone who knows the sport trying to help people like you understand that there is a difference between cricket and Tennis.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
This is like someone questioning why cricketers go off the field when it starts to rain. Can’t they handle getting wet? Anyone who knows the sport knows why it’s done that way. It’s a different kind of concentration. A batsman is in the position of the tennis player receiving the serve rather than performing the serve. The player receiving the serve isn’t the one that is disadvantaged by crowd noise. There’s a reason why these conventions exist.
Dan
Roar Rookie
It’s tennis dude, there’s not that much to figure out. You sound a little over invested, just saying. Are you one of those junior tennis coaches in the mould of Damir Dokic who screams at their players if they can’t tell the difference between a continental and an eastern grip? I don’t that would surprise anyone here.
Dan
Roar Rookie
Yeah sure Gray, batting through your 90s to get to a century doesn’t require any concentration. Nor does batting for long periods during a test match on a green pitch facing a hostile bowling attack. Seriously? No one said serving doesn’t require concentration, but if you’re getting paid as much as these guys I would have thought learning to concentrate with noise around shouldn’t be too much of an ask.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
A pity - you would have learned something about a sport you clearly have little knowledge of.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Batting and serving are totally different. Batting requires reflexes. Serving requires concentration. Crowd noise after the serve is fine.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Long reply that I didn't read but if crowds always make noise the players would be used to it Someone as good and as focused as Djokovic would win anyway
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
The relevant differences are: 1. The crowds are a lot further away in football. In Tennis the spectators are about 5 metres away - close enough to hear individual spoken comments, let alone screaming. And the crowds surround the player in a way that doesn’t happen in football. 2. Serving a Tennis ball is more difficult and requires higher precision than kicking a football. A penalty shot in football requires a player to run up and kick a large stationary football through a large target area. A tennis serve requires a far more complicated action of throwing a ball into the air and using an unnatural action to swat it with a racquet. Additionally, while the square the Tennis player is serving into is large, the spot they are targeting is tiny - less than a square foot, and right on the edge, so being slightly off is a fault. The Tennis player is also not just hitting the ball straight, they will usually be trying to impart kick or spin to the ball. There is just a lot more to serving a ball than there is to kicking conversions and penalties, and it requires more concentration and a lot more precision. 3. Serving the ball is way more important in Tennis than kicking penalties in football. Poor penalty kicking will definitely lose you games in rugby, a team can still easily win games by being strong in other areas. In Tennis, the serve is king. The serve dictates how the point is played and a player can’t hide a poor service game in the same way that a rugby or soccer team can overcome having a mediocre penalty kicker. Basically - serving requires, more concentration, it’s easier for a crowd to break that concentration and that has more of an effect on a game than it would in football. Djoković has won 9 Aus Opens. If he had the crowd against him like they have been against Kyrgios’s opponents, he probably wouldn’t have won any. It makes a big difference. It isn’t just Tennis fans being precious.
Dan
Roar Rookie
I agree, I read a Sports Illustrated article years ago in the 90s that was bemoaning how boring tennis could be. They said if Barry Bonds (roids aside) could hit a 100 mph fastball out of the park with a crowd of 70000 making all the noise in the world, why couldn’t Pete Sampras smack down aces with noise going on? Same here with Steve Smith and co launching Pom bowlers over the fence with a gassed up crowd at the MCG on Boxing Day. Now it’s not like they’ve ever had problems filling the stands at the AO, but at least make it as fun as you can.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Tennis players demand that we be in awe of them?
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
"It’s not the same as taking a conversion in rugby or a penalty shot in soccer." I disagree with that. If they decide to block out the noise they will be fine.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Reverence?
Damo
Guest
Well, they do come across at the Happy Gilmore of tennis so your comparison is apt!
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Tennis serving is an unnatural, complicated high concentration action and the spectators are right on top of the server. Centimetres count. It’s not the same as taking a conversion in rugby or a penalty shot in soccer. It’s fine for the crowd to be cheering or booing or singing or siouing or whatever they like … except when players are serving, and especially on the second serve.