11:21
Kokkinakis & Kyrgios 2-2 Ebden & Purcell*
Ebden crashing in the kick serves, and does so to love, finishing with an ace.
11:20
*Kokkinakis & Kyrgios 2-2 Ebden & Purcell
Kokkinakis serves and begins with venom, this is quickfire stuff. Ebden and Purcell are canny operators and reading him well. Nevertheless, the job is completed and the game is going with serve. It’s loud in the stands, all the prawn sandwichers probably headed to the champagne tent.
11:16
Kokkinakis & Kyrgios 1-2 Ebden & Purcell*
Kokkinakis loops up a return of the Purcell serve before Edben crashes home a smash for 40-30. Purcell takes the game with some neat volleying.
11:13
*Kokkinakis & Kyrgios 1-1 Ebden & Purcell
222 km/h is the speed of the serve with which Kyrgios delivers the hold. Plenty of big air from him and his partner. Kyrgios is a decent basketball player, I am told.
11:11
Kokkinakis & Kyrgios 0-1 Ebden & Purcell*
Matt Ebden and Max Purcell look to be cruising to a routine opening hold but Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis find their shots to force deuce. In the end Ebden’s powerful serve down the middle proves decisive.
Updated
10:56
Preamble
Yet another opportunity for home glory for Australia, and they can’t lose this one. Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis are the fun boy pair while Matt Ebden and Max Purcell, the more cerebral pair, with Ebden a former mixed doubles champion of his home tournament, winning that in 2013. The Melbourne crowd, doubtless featuring a high number of the city’s Greek population, will no doubt be louder on the Special K side but this will be a fun event for the home fans after all the anxiety of watching Ash Barty in the women’s final. Now that Ash has got the job done, this can be a feast of liquid tennis, though perhaps Krygios can offer some devilment into the match.