Kyrgios, Kokkinakis end 'Special Ks' show with doubles triumph

Story by Reuters

Updated 1439 GMT (2239 HKT) January 29, 2022

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios pose with the championship trophy after winning their men's doubles final.

(Reuters)The «Special Ks» show at the Australian Open ended on a high after Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis claimed their first major title by defeating compatriots Max Purcell and Matt Ebden in the men's doubles final on Saturday.

Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, nicknamed the «Special Ks» as juniors, entertained the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena with a 7-5 6-4 victory under the lights.They are the first wildcard team to win the Australian Open men's doubles title in the professional era.«What a week! It was a super tough match but a great week all around,» said Kokkinakis, who claimed his first ATP title at Adelaide before the Australian Open.«Nick, I love you brother. Man, I can honestly say we did not expect to even come close to this, but with the help of you guys (the crowd) all week, it was unbelievable. The coverage we got and the support for us, we could not ask for anything more.»Read MoreA backhand from Kokkinakis sealed the first break of the match in the 11th game and the duo closed out the opening set on their service game as the fans imitated Cristiano Ronaldo's famous «Siuuu!» goal celebration to cheer the duo.READ: Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis are taking the Australian Open by stormNick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis celebrate after winning match point.The duo took a 4-3 lead in the second set after breaking to love before they had a match point denied by their opponents at 5-4.The pair finally wrapped up the match on serve, with Kyrgios blasting two aces as they won the contest in 95 minutes, completing their fairytale run at