‘Almost taken from us’: Aussie cult duo’s stirring return capped by star’s teary on-court interview

The ‘Special Ks’, Thanasis Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios, came from behind to progress to the Round of 16 of the Brisbane International doubles, before providing an emotional post-match interview.

After losing the first set to fellow Australian Matt Ebden and American Rajeev Ram, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis won the second set before prevailing in a 10-point tiebreak to seal the deal, 5–7, 6–4, [10–8].

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The 2022 Australian Open doubles champions will next face off against French pairing Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul for a spot in the final eight.

“First of all, thank you to everyone for coming out. There’s nothing better than playing in front of an Aussie crowd — we really appreciate it,” said Kokkinakis.

“We knew we had quality opponents … it was always going to be tough, especially since we hadn’t played together for a few years.

“But once we got out there, it felt like riding a bike. It was a lot of fun. We’ve got great chemistry, and we loved it.”

Kokkinakis, who was plagued by a serious pectoral muscle injury last year, became emotional speaking about his struggles.

“It’s crazy. I haven’t played a match in 12 months,” a tearing-up Kokkinakis said on court.

“It’s been a long year, a challenging one, a lot of times that I thought the game was done for me. It’s doubles, but it means everything.”

It was also a positive return to the court for the oft-injured Kyrgios — playing in his first official tournament in six months — who is hoping to also stake his claim at the Australian Open later this month.

The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up and former world no.13 referenced both his and his partner’s injury hurdles.

“With everything Thanasi has gone through over the last year, and with what I’ve dealt with myself, tennis was almost taken away from both of us,” Kyrgios said.

“To come back out here and play at that level was pretty insane … Whether we win or lose, we always have the best time together on court. But doing it here makes it even more special. We both have great memories in Brisbane.

“I’m just really glad we got the win. It feels good to be back competing and still able to do it at this level — that’s pretty cool.”

In Perth meantime, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka got her 2026 season off to a winning start for Japan in the United Cup, after Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu pulled out of their singles clash with a foot injury.

But despite Osaka’s win, GB took the match 2-1 with a deciding mixed doubles victory in the Sunday clash.

Switzerland came through the deciding mixed doubles against Italy, with a 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 win by Belinda Bencic and Jakub Paul over Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, enough to see the team through.2-1 into the quarter-finals.

“There was great emotion from the team. We were into it with our hearts and it showed,” Bencic said.

Against Britain, Osaka was too strong for 276th-ranked reserve Katie Swan, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 as Raducanu watched from the sidelines.

“I’m proud of how I fought,” Osaka said. “I’d never played here, it was tough.” GB captain Tim Henman said Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, could appear later in the event.

“She struggled with her foot at the end of last year. She’s been practicing in London and is very close. Tomorrow (against Greece) is a bit up in the air.”

Billy Harris, standing in for the injured Jack Draper, began with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 defeat of Shintaro Mochizuki. Great Britain sealed the match when Neal Skupski and Olivia Nicholls defeated Yasutaka Uchiyama and Nao Hibino 7-5, 4-6, 10-7.

Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka, 40 and playing his final season, matched it with 23-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli until a double-fault on match point proved to be the downfall of the three-time Grand Slam winner.

Wawrinka, playing his his second three-hour match in as many days, lost 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/4).

Bencic spoiled the 30th birthday of Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3. “I had to convince my mind after losing to her at the end of 2025,” the winner said.

“It was about mentality out there but I knew I could do it.” In Sydney, Alexander Zverev clinched victory for Germany against the Netherlands as the world number three demolished Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-0.

Eva Lys beat Suzan Lamens 6-2, 6-2 and Germany also took the doubles for a 3-0 sweep.

Playing his first match of 2026, Zverev dropped just seven points in a commanding second set.

“The first set, it was tough to get rhythm,“said Zverev.

“Once I got the chances, I did well and I’m very happy with the win.” Canada beat China, with Victoria Mboko defeating Zhu Lin 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 and Felix Auger-Aliassime overcoming Zhang Zhizhen 6-4, 6-4.

The 18-nation mixed-team event in Perth and Sydney is a warm-up for the Australian Open which begins on January 18.