Nick Kyrgios shouted “I want to win this f***ing thing!" after he and Thanasi Kokkinakis reached the semi-finals of the doubles at the Australian Open.
In front of a partisan home crowd in the Kia Arena, the team dubbed 'The Specials K's' of Kyrgios toppled No 6 seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus 7-5 3-6 6-3 to spark wild celebrations - both on and off court.
Kygois, 26, frequently geed up the crowd during the contest, and lauded the atmosphere in his post-match interview before saying "Unreal scenes. I am not finished. I want to win this f***ing thing!"
Compatriot Kokkinakis, 25, added: “There is no feeling like it having all those young fans going nuts. I haven’t been in a doubles match, even a singles match, with this kind of atmosphere. Sink p*** and come here.”
The doubles match was shown live on Australian television over Rafael Nadal's epic five-setter with Denis Shapovalov, and in his post-match press conference, the man so often renowned for dubious behaviour even portrayed himself as a role model.
“There is no way around it. Me and Thanasi are definitely role models to the youth in Australia. We obviously attract that crowd," said Kyrgios.
“I know that over the years I haven't been the best role model, but I was just learning how to deal with everything. I think now at 26 I have matured, and I've definitely realised that a lot of young kids and people, even people that are low on confidence, they do look towards us when we go out there.
"We are not special people. We're normal humans that you might see walking in Australia, and we are now in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam."
The wildcard pairing have certainly provided some talking points in Melbourne, beating top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the second-round, and later claiming Pavic’s trainer offered to physically fight them afterwards.
And during their latest win, Kyrgios presented a young fan with a brand new tennis racquet after brazenly knocking a ball into the stands and inadvertently hitting the youngster.
“I saw it heading towards the kid and I thought: ‘Oh no, I am getting defaulted’,” he said. “I was glad he was ok and I gave him the racquet.”
Kyrgios added “I have never had this much fun on a tennis court ever."
