The men’s doubles final is set to see an Aussie win no matter what happens with Kyrgios and Kokkinakis set to play fellow Australians Ebden and Purcell at Melbourne Park final this Saturday.
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated Latin tennis duo Zeballos and Granollers in the Semi-final while Max Purcell and Matt Ebden won against American and British pair Ram and Salisbury to all qualify for the doubles final. According to the ABC it is the first time since 1980 that there has been all-Australian men’s doubles final at the Australian Open (AO).
After the match Kyrgios said that the match was incredible adding that the crowd gave lots of energy to the atmosphere.
“I have played a lot of singles matches around the globe with amazing atmospheres but this week with Thanasi playing in front of you, nothing beats this,” he said.
While the long-time friendship of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis was evident on the court, the other Aussie duo of Purcell and Ebden did not disappoint spectators either with their fourth consecutive win in the AO. Ebden told reporters post-match that “it’s our home Slam, our court. We’re Australians’ and the crowd made a difference yesterday and today… to go through to the finals here is a dream”.
Weighing in on the momentous occasion was 11-time Grand Slam winner Rod Laver who said on twitter “Congratulations Nick, Thanasi, Max and Matt. Four Aussie men in the doubles final, you are all knocking it out of the park!”. While the men’s doubles final is set for an Aussie win, the women’s singles final will see Australian World No.1 Ash Barty take on World No.27 Danielle Collins after Barty defeated American Madison Keys in straight sets in the Semi-final.
With Barty in the final, she has become the first Australian woman to reach the Australian Open since 1980 and the sixth Aussie woman ever to play in the AO final. If she goes onto win she will be the first Australian woman to win the AO since 1978 according to Fox Sports.
The men’s doubles final will start play at 7:45pm AEDT this Saturday 29 while the women’s singles final with Ash Barty starts at 6:30pm AEDT.
