‘The rowdier, the better’: Special Ks give tennis a glimpse of an alternative future

Is this the future of tennis? “It has to be,” said Nick Kyrgios. When Kyrgios says something there is usually no turning back. Actually, sometimes there is, because we know he is prone to the odd backflip, or flip-out, or flippancy in general.

But Kyrgios really did not even need to say this to make it true; he and Thanasi Kokkinakis had already ensured the sport has changed irrevocably. Without warning. Without even a pleasant, tennis-like announcement.

That was on Thursday afternoon at Rod Laver Arena, where this improvisation of a doubles partnership had just finished another jam session. They had riffed off each other and the crowd – even those plebs with ground passes were allowed in – and come up with something catchier than yet another set of superiorly ranked battle-of-the-band rivals.

Half an hour later, in a press conference to mark their progression to a grand slam final at the first time of asking, Kyrgios described said opponents as “advanced”. Except that he used air quotes so we knew what he really meant was more like “they told us this doubles caper was hard”.

Kyrgios has long revelled in a bit of lawn-club brattiness. Now he has a partner-in-crime who tells the punters to “drink piss and come here”. “Here” is Kia Arena, which is week two’s John Cain equivalent and promises double the fun. A hotbed of either passionate supporters or yahooing yobos, depending on who you ask.

In some ways this “the rowdier, the better” (credit: Kokkinakis) mentality must be a bit of a headache for Tennis Australia. After the Novak Djokovic and Peng Shuai headaches, it is a nice one to have. And the governing body has made it work. Even Rod Laver himself joined the mob to watch them play on Thursday.

“I think we’re