After a battling efficiency Australian Open doubles champions Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have narrowly misplaced their opening match within the ATP Finals to world No.1 pair Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof.
The Aussie duo took the primary set regardless of Kyrgios having solely stepped off a airplane on Sunday having performed in Mexico City on Friday, however had been finally overwhelmed 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 10-5.
The Special Ks pushed the highest seeds all the best way in Turin on Monday, the Anglo-Dutch pair lastly overcoming them after 90 minutes.
Often enjoying extra like two singles gamers than a doubles pair, reflecting their ordinary tour priorities, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis rattled their specialist doubles opponents. They trusted their floor strokes from the again of the courtroom quite than volleying from the entrance, and served powerfully.
Kyrgios gained the primary set tiebreaker with an unreturned serve. However, at 3-3 within the second set Kokkinakis suffered what would show the one break of the match, overwhelmed by skilful web play from Koolhof.
That was a part of a 12-point run through which Skupski and Koolhof gained 11 factors. Though Kyrgios held at 3-5 Skupski served out the set forcing a match tiebreak.
The world No.1s had beforehand gained 15 of 20 of those and their expertise confirmed, the competition ending when Kyrgios returned serve into the online.
“My preparation has not been ideal, but we don’t need to waste time training,” he stated, in response to native studies.
This was solely he and Kokkinakis’ thirtieth doubles match of the yr whereas their opponents had performed greater than 70.
“That’s what Kyrgios and Kokkinakis are lacking a little bit – that fluidity as a team,” Inglot stated.
“They’re great individual players, but there were some moments you could see there wasn’t that gelling from a textbook perspective.”
Were they to return by to take the title, the Special Ks can be the primary all-Australian partnership to win the ATP Finals since 1996 when the ‘Woodies’ – Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge – gained the second of their titles.
And pundit Greg Rusedski thinks it is nonetheless a chance.
“Don’t rule out these guys. They pushed the best team in the world the full distance,” the previous US Open finalist stated.
Commentator Daniela Hantuchova, who gained all 4 combined doubles slams, added: “They played some incredible tennis and have so many positives to take into the rest of the tournament.”
In the later match between the opposite pairs within the group, Croatian duo Nikola Metic and Mate Pavic beat Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-4 3-6 10-7.
The high two undergo to the semi-finals of the eight-team competitors.
