Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios’ time in the Australian Open ended with a first round defeat to Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis opted out of the Australian Open singles following a multitude of injury issues for both players.
The Australian icons played out a competitive match against Kubler and Polmans, but the pair lost a deciding 10-point tie-break.
After the match, Kokkinakis confirmed he would not play an upcoming tournament due to his injury problems.
Thanasi Kokkinakis immediately pulls out of the Davis Cup
Kokkinakis had been named by Lleyton Hewitt in Australia’s Davis Cup team to face Ecuador in February, but he confirmed in his Australian Open press conference that he has already ruled himself out.
“I think I’m going to be on ice for a while. I don’t want to play another match feeling like that ever again, so…I will take a serious break. Yeah, I told Lleyton he’s got to take someone straight after.
“I don’t know if he is asleep. Probably is, but I said you got to take a healthy body, someone that’s a lot more ready than me.I’m in no way, shape or form ready to compete at this level.
“I’ve got to do some things. I had some injections booked for after the tournament anyway. Yeah, I thought I’d be able to get through a doubles. Yeah, it’s pretty disappointing.
Kokkinakis has played several tournaments in the run-up to the Australian Open, including the Brisbane and Adelaide International.
Nick Kyrgios will return to action at the Australian Open despite defeat
Kyrgios‘ time in the men’s doubles might be over, but he has also entered the mixed doubles, with his match set for Friday, 23 January.
The Australian will partner Grand Slam finalist Leylah Fernandez in Melbourne, after the pair received a wild card for the event.
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Fernandez exited the Australian Open singles after losing to Janice Tjen, but she and Kyrgios will play Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski in the first round.
Skupski and Krawczyk are two-time Grand Slam champions, having won Wimbledon in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022.
The draw could arguably not be harder for Kyrgios and Fernandez as they look to keep their Australian Open campaigns alive.
