Thanasi Kokkinakis concedes his debilitating pectoral muscle injury will likely force him to pull out of his hotly-anticipated 'Special Ks' doubles reunion with Nick Kyrgios.

Doubles tennis rarely receives much attention in the first week of a grand slam, but that's not the case at this year's Australian Open. Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios are set to team up at the AO for the first time since taking out the men's doubles in 2022.

The Special K duo of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis retire in the second set against Vukic and Duckworth, while top Australian seed Alex de Minaur progresses to the third round of the men's singles at Melbourne Park.

Injury-riddled Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios were forced to retire early in their men's doubles reunion at Melbourne Park after a set and a half.

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis are back in the Australian Open men's doubles draw for the first time since winning the title in

The apologetic Aussie was plainly ‘shattered’ to tell his great mate Nick Kyrgios it was all over. Thanasi Kokkinakis’ dream of repeating his stunning Australian Open doubles success with Nick Kyrgios has been dashed by his debilitating pectoral muscle injury.

It was a miracle that they were even out there, but in the end a win was too much to ask of Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios, who were unable to overcome their Aus Open injury issues. The first miracle came when Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis produced Lazarus-like recoveries from their respective death beds to appear at John Cain Arena for their opening round doubles match.

Kokkinakis has been struggling with a pectoral injury for some time, and was forced to withdraw from the Adelaide International last week. He managed to win his first-round singles match at the Australian Open, before suffering a heartbreaking five-set loss in the second round.

Both Kyrgios (strained abdominal muscle) and Kokkinakis (right shoulder trouble) came into the match dealing with physical issues.

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, dubbed the Special Ks, have pulled the pin on their doubles campaign and walked off the court.

Thanasi Kokkinakis didn't have great news after retiring injured from his Australian Open men's doubles clash with Nick Kyrgios, revealing that he will need "a serious surgical procedure" after going against the doctors and going out to the court.