Nick Kyrgios returned to winning ways alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis as they defeated Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram in Brisbane.
Kyrgios provided a positive fitness update ahead of Brisbane and he and Kokkinakis impressed as they came through a deciding tie-break to reach the second round.
Kyrgios has received a wild card for both the singles and doubles at the Brisbane International, and he has hopes of securing a wild card for the Australian Open.
Former Australian tennis star John Millman has suggested what needs to happen in Brisbane for Kyrgios to gain entry to the first Grand Slam of the year.
John Millman says it would ‘surprise’ him if Nick Kyrgios does not get an Australian Open wild card
Millman discussed Kyrgios’ chances of receiving an Australian Open wild card on ABC News after his doubles victory.
“I’m not privy to any of those conversations, but if I was to hazard a guess, if Nick’s fit and ready to go, I don’t think that the tournament organisers are going to deny Nick a wild card,” he said.
“You know, I know Nick’s a polarizing figure. I know he’s got a lot of support and a lot of admirers. And then there’s those others that might not be in his bandwagon and and cheering him on.
“But what he does do is he draws a crowd. And we know event organizers at the Tennis Australia, they love to have that energy.
“They love that crowd. And I think this is a real litmus test to see if his body holds up. It looked like it
was in really good shape last night. He has had limited play.”
However, Millman suggested that Kyrgios will have to show a bit more at the Brisbane International in order to get a wild card.
“He only played three ATP matches last year in 2025. He predominantly played a lot of exhibition and feature matches throughout the year.
“I think that they’ll be looking to this Brisbane international to see if he can get it through his doubles, if he can get through his singles.
“And if he does, it would not surprise me if he is given a wild card. In fact, it would surprise me if he wasn’t given one.”
Kyrgios plays Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of the Brisbane International singles, a player he is yet to play on the ATP Tour.
John Millman thinks Nick Kyrgios could struggle at the Australian Open
Despite rallying for him to be included in the Australian Open, Millman thinks both Kyrgios and Kokkinakis could be in for a rude awakening at the Grand Slam.
Millman believes their fitness issues could be highlighted in the Australian Open’s best-of-five-sets format.
What would be a successful season for Nick Kyrgios in 2026?
He said: “Although I don’t want to pump up the tires just too much. I want to taper everyone’s expectations because it’s a big difference to go from playing some doubles to best of five sets in a couple of weeks times at the Australian Open.
“That’ll be the big litmus test to see how this shoulder has responded to the last 12 months of rehabilitation.”
Neither Kyrgios nor Kokkinakis have received an Australian Open wild card as yet, but Kokkinakis will play the Adelaide International before it.
