Nick Kyrgios responds to being called a ‘an absolute knob’ by tennis rival Michael Venus

Nick Kyrgios defended his on-court conduct after he and Thanasi Kokkinakis booked their place in the final of the men’s doubles at the Australian Open.

Rod Laver was packed to the rafters again, and there cannot have been a bigger cheer than that which greeted Kyrgios and Kokkinakis as they walked out to take on third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

After clinching a 7-6 (4) 6-4 victory, Kyrgios said: ‘I’ve played a lot of singles matches around the world in amazing atmospheres but this week with Thanasi, nothing beats this, this is insane.’

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>The @tkokkinakis & @nickkyrgios show will have a FINAL episode ð They score a 7-6(4) 6-4 upset over No.3 seeds Granollers/Zeballos and will face fellow Aussies Matt Ebden/Max Purcell for the title.#AusOpen · #AO2022 ð¥: @wwos · @espn · @eurosport · @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/82PgEcuoep

In the final, they will face another Australian pair, Matt Ebden and Max Purcell, who defeated Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram 6-3 7-6 (9) in virtual silence over on Margaret Court Arena.

Kyrgios whipped up the crowd immediately, and the noise only grew when the home duo took the first-set tie-break. Kyrgios missed a set point when he tried a shot through the legs but two big returns from the 26-year-old ultimately proved the difference.

The wild cards looked on their way when they broke in the second game of the second set but Kyrgios lost his serve at 4-2, smashing his racket in anger and becoming frustrated with fans calling out before his serve.

It appeared the match might have turned but Kyrgios and Kokkinakis saved their best returning game for the right moment.

When a final lob from Kokkinakis dropped in, the duo threw their