It was reminiscent of Hollywood, of the big, glittering stage when Nick Kyrgios and his new girlfriend Costin Hatzipourganis walked through the aisles of the newly created media center at the Australian Open floated in Melbourne.
They were joined, holding hands, by an entourage of camera crews, producers and staff who positioned microphones over the couple. It wasn’t the usual side effects of a Grand Slam-tournament. It was simply a new hype.
Cooperation with the streaming service Netflix
At the beginning of Australian Open have the associations of the women’s and men’s tour WTA and ATP announced a cooperation with a streaming service. Modeled on Formula 1 (“Drive to survive”) should new fans be won for the traditional sport.
Kyrgios is one of the protagonists who is followed at every turn – and the 26-year-old showman enjoys the attention. The documentary filmmakers have also chosen the right sport. With friend and compatriot Thanasis Kokkinakis, he started an unexpected triumph that took the duo to an all-Australian doubles final. Both convince as extroverts entertainer, which also attract non-tennis fans.
Barty walks effortlessly through the competition
An unusual combination of the “Pub Rock Tennis” of the double pair on the one hand and the stylistically unique variable Ashleigh Barty on the other hand, which focuses purely on the sporty.
The introverted, sensitive and always polite world number one with indigenous roots walked effortlessly through the competition and lost the fewest games since Steffi Graf (1989) up to the semi-finals.
On Saturday against the surprise finalist Danielle Collins, the 25-year-old can become the first domestic tournament winner since 1980 – at that time her role model Evonne Goolagong won. The 70-year-old also has indigenous roots.
Kyrgios/Kokkinakis: Atmosphere like at festivals
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis could have been Australian individual heroes for a long time, but have failed in recent years due to spirit and professionalism (Kyrgios) or countless injuries (Kokkinakis). This week they’re taking doubles tennis to another level. The mood in the almost sold-out arenas is more reminiscent of darts, beach volleyball or festival events.
At times, the atmosphere spills into the borderline. After the quarter-finals, Tim Pütz complained about nasty insults against himself, doubles partner Michael Venus and their families from wild fans. Puetz explained: “Tennis is entertainment, but that’s too much.“
Kokkinakis explained: “We never deliberately discredit the opponents, but we do try to heat up and improve the atmosphere. Some opponents take that personally.” Kyrgios is sure that they will attract new viewers who are otherwise unrelated to tennis. “People can identify with us.“He wasn’t a good role model for years.”But now Thanasis and I are definitely role models for the youth.”
Barty and mental health: finding balance
Barty is also a role model for young people, but is valued by Australians for completely different reasons. The talented right-hander took two lengthy breaks from the Tour for her mental health. In the first, in 2014, she disappeared completely and joined a professional cricket team in her homeland.
When she had long since advanced into the world class after her return and great victories like in the French Open After celebrating in 2019, she withdrew again for ten months during the pandemic. Tennis was never the world for her, but now she seems to have found a healthy mix.
Barty: The slice is hot
In terms of sport, she is beyond any doubt anyway. In an age of athletes and hard hitters, she drives her opponents to despair with unknown variability.
Prime example: your backhand slice. Her longtime coach Craig Tyzzer summed it up smugly on the sidelines of the tournament: “Almost every opponent trains the day before with someone who plays backhand slices. Practicing and getting to grips with that the day before is probably a bit late.“
Barty revealed in Melbourne that the coach takes a lot from her. You don’t watch the matches: “Tyzz can watch opponents’ matches. We do our thing, our routines and come back on Saturday – with a big grin on our face. And then we’ll see what happens.”
Australians are allowed to cheer in any case
Barty is a favorite against Collins – as are Kyrgios and Kokkinakis against their compatriots Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell. The home fans can cheer in any case. Of course, for the documentary makers, a victory for Kyrgios and Kokkinakis would be the perfect script for episode one in a new digitized age of tennis.
Status: 01/28/2022, 09:57