âA lot of people do ACLs and Achilles ruptures, which are brutal, terrible injuries. But with those, a lot of people have had them, so you know who to speak to and what to do.
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âThis one, Iâm kind of gauging how we go âĻ to be on the court, especially with Nick, was a special feeling. Itâs been a very rocky road this [past] year, and Iâm trying to take it one day at a time.â
A torrent of water has gone under the bridge since Kyrgios, now 30, beat Kokkinakis, 29, in the 2013 Australian Open boysâ final, and they are far closer to the end of their careers than the start. They guffawed as they barely believed their age while saying it out loud.
âI feel like my tennis journey has been so interesting, and anytime Iâm able to add a little match like this to, I guess, the resume, or just get out there and play, itâs special,â Kyrgios said.
âI donât really know what my plan is this year or what my future holds, either. Iâm literally taking it day by day. When me and Thanasi play doubles together, we remember that this sport can be pretty fun, and itâs not always just injuries and competing and grinding.
âEvery good thing thatâs come in my life has come from this sport [but] itâs gone in a flash. I feel like we look at that 2013 [boysâ final], and itâs like, âThat didnât feel that long agoâ. Now, Iâm 30.â
Kyrgios has scaled greater heights â headlined by making the 2022 Wimbledon final among four grand slam runs to at least the quarter-finals â and been more controversial and polarising.
The former world No.13 has toppled all of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, which he is immensely proud of, while Kokkinakis famously upset Federer in Miami eight years ago.
But they have both been cruelled by injury.
Kokkinakis has more often shown vulnerability in public about his unfortunate fate, as he did on Sunday night, but Kyrgios has increasingly peeled back his combative exterior to admit how tough he found having tennis repeatedly ripped away from him.
âI canât speak for Nick, but itâs memories like this, playing in front of crowds and seeing the joy that it gives people [that drives me to keep coming back],â Kokkinakis said.
âWe love when weâre healthy, and being able to actually just play tennis and only worry about that. Itâs a fun feeling, and weâve done it our whole lives.
âIâm trying to do everything I can. I donât want to go five years and be like, âI wish I gave it a little bit more of a crackâ, or âI could have done something else a little bitâ. While weâre somewhat able to keep going, I think we will.â
