Nick Kyrgios is through to the Australian Open men’s doubles final alongside fellow countryman and good friend Thanasi Kokkinakis.
To reach the final, they had to take care of No.3 seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos which they did in straight sets 7-6, 6-4 on Thursday afternoon.
While there was no doubting the noise inside Rod Laver Arena for the semi-final, the atmosphere didn’t quite reach the heights of Tuesday’s quarter-final win against Michael Venus and Tim Putz.
Throughout that clash, Kyrgios and Venus went back and forth, with the pair whipping the crowd into a frenzy as they exchanged words during the aggressive match.
After being knocked out of the tournament by the ‘Special K’s’, Venus told New Zealand broadcaster 1News that Kyrgios was a “absolute knob” with the “maturity of a 10 year old”.
While he’s never one to shy away from a war of words, Kyrgios opted to subtly take a dig at the New Zealander as he returned serve following his most recent victory in the semi.
“My goal is to only bring new fans that may not be following tennis to watch tennis,” Kyrgios said.
“If they flick on a match and they have Thanasi and I playing in an entertaining doubles match, they know nothing about tennis, if they watch that match just then, they probably would tune in next time.
“That’s what I’m about. That's what I want to bring. I think that’s how the sport is going to survive.
“As to Michael Venus, I’m not going to destroy him in this media conference room right now.
“But Zeballos and Granollers are singles players. They’ve had great careers. I respect them a lot more than I respect Michael Venus. I think the balance was there today.
“The quality of tennis was amazing. I think the festival atmosphere was still there. I think they embraced it. They knew it was an incredible atmosphere. Zeballos took a selfie with us before we walked out. That's how you embrace an atmosphere.
“You’re not losing a match and then getting salty about it afterwards. It’s ridiculous.”
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis next face fellow Aussie pairing Matthew Eden and Max Purcell in the Australian Open men’s doubles final.
That match will follow the women’s singles final on centre court on Saturday night.