Nick Kyrgios has doubled down on his Australian Open retirement plans after his doubles campaign lasted barely an hour before the end of his tournament.
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Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis limped on to the court on Thursday night before injury forced Kokkinakis to pull the pin as they trailed fellow Australians James Duckworth and Aleksander Vukic 7-5, 3-2.
Kokkinakis defied doctors orders to play in the hope of rekindling the run he and Kyrgios went on to win the doubles title at the Open in 2022.
But so much has changed since then and Kyrgios has barely played a match since the start of 2023 after he battled his own injury concerns.
Kyrgios ignited tennis debate when he said his round-one singles loss was potentially his final appearance in the draw, despite being just 29 years old.
"I can't see myself playing a singles match [at the Australian Open] again," he said after his loss to Jacob Fearnley.
It prompted some to urge Kyrgios to put all of his energy into a doubles career to extend his time at grand slams beyond this year.
But Kyrgios said teaming up with Kokkinakis may have been his home grand slam swansong.
"Was possible my last time out there tonight. Thankyou Kokki," Kyrgios said on social media.
Kyrgios said he was committed to playing a full season on the singles circuit this year, but nothing was guaranteed beyond that.
"I think on full potential and full health, we could do some damage in the doubles always," Kyrgios said.
"I felt like the crowd tonight was ready to erupt from the get-go.
"For me, obviously this year I've been out for two years, so I don't know what this year's going to bring.
"I'm going to trust the process. I think I'm hitting the ball great. I've still got a long way to get back to that same level I was in 2022."
Kokkinakis expects he'll need surgery on a debilitating pectoral injury, which ruined his singles and doubles campaigns.
"The doctor advised me not to play and I'm going to need to do a serious procedure now, probably," a shattered Kokkinakis told reporters after the doubles loss.
"I've got to speak to as many experts as I can, but I can't serve, I can't hit a high forehand and I'm in a lot of pain.
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"I wanted to come out here - I know there was a lot of talk about us playing again - I wanted to see if I was somewhat competitive, even without a serve.
"I just wanted to get on court again with the big fella. Such great memories and we had a big crowd, we knew, waiting for us. Any other event, any other circumstance, I'm not stepping foot on court, for sure."
Kokkinakis's booming serve was drastically reduced as he toiled alongside Kyrgios, who was also battling an abdominal injury that initially threatened to prevent him playing this week.
There was a sense of inevitability about the injury getting the better of Kokkinakis, especially after they had dropped the first set.
"I knew it was going to happen," Kokkinakis said. "I was broken yesterday, I was serving restricted yesterday. It was tough.
"I knew coming into the event I was just going to leave everything out there. It wasn't just my serve, it was my forehand, I was feeling pain. My arm's essentially cooked. I need to fix it. It's going to take some time."
Duckworth and Vukic will meet another Australian pair, wildcards Luke Saville and Li Tu, in the second round of the doubles.
Vukic no doubt enjoyed his earlier-than-expected bedtime ahead of Friday's third-round singles meeting with 15th-seeded Englishman Draper.
with AAP
