‘Special K’s’ steal the Aus Open spotlight

The “Special K’s” had a packed house on Kia Arena losing their minds as the duo claimed a 6-4 4-6 6-4 win in front of a wild crowd.

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Before the match began, it was clear that Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were going to continue to play the entertaining tennis they had throughout the double fixtures so far.

Channel 9 cameras even caught the pair showing their … close relationship.

And the Kia Arena was full to the brim as Kyrgios and Kokkinakis continue to be a box office draw.

The crowd were vocal once again, trotting out the much-maligned “Siu”, the Seven Nation Army chant and making plenty of noise in a party atmosphere.

And they were treated to a belter of a match as it went the distance.

Coming after the reports of a near-fight in the locker rooms after ousting the top seeds in their last outing, the Aussies sent the packed house into raptures in the first set when they broke to take the first set 6-4.

But the dynamic Aussie duo hit some adversity in the second set when Behar and Escobar broke early in the second set on Kyrgios’ serve as the 15th seeds moved to 3-1.

The Aussies weren’t about to take it lying down though, hitting back to put it back on serve at 4-3 on a double fault.

Kyrgios, who has continued to play to the crowd, sprinted back to the player’s bench.

However the frustration started getting the better of Kyrgios in the tight match, as the star threw down his racquet in disgust after hitting a point into the net.

And Behar and Escobar hit back to claim the second set and send the match to a decider.

The “Special K’s” sent the crowd wild once again when a double fault on game point of the fifth game of the third set put the Aussies in the box seat.

The wild crowd had the commentators saying it was like a “Davis Cup doubles crowd” as the fans rode every point in the stadium and at home.

After the match, asked about taking out another seeded pair, the first question was about how hard it had been to overcome established doubles teams, to which Kyrgios joked: “I mean, it’s been pretty easy”, before hugging Kokkinakis.

“Today these guys were tough,” Kyrgios said. “They served really well, it was incredibly tough to get any rhythm on the return, but the energy with Thanasi, it’s always a pleasure to play with you brother. The atmosphere’s insane and you guys are unreal again.”

Asked about how long they had played together, having played juniors doubles in 2013, Kokkinakis had his shot at some zingers.

“I’ve known the big fella since he was a chubby kid from Canberra,” Kokkinakis began.

“He’s slim and looks good now. But we’ve been through a lot together and we play for fun but coming out here, we want to impress you guys. The atmosphere is unbelievable and the feeling we get when we walk though that tunnel, I was looking up at the stands before we’d even walked onto court and you can’t not get up for matches like this.”

The pair also wanted Craig Tiley to keep them out on getting the incredible support on the outside courts.

“We both lost early in singles but to come out here and have this atmosphere for a doubles match is insane, you don’t get it anywhere else in the world,” he said.

As for if their run would keep going, Kyrgios said: “We’re winning it”.

The result sees them play the sixth seeded pair of New Zealander Michael Venus and German Tim Puetz in the quarterfinals.

Originally published as ‘We’re winning it’: Kyrgios-Kokkinakis steal the Aus Open spotlight