Nick Kyrgios’ return to the Australian Open is over after he and partner Thanasi Kokkinakis stopped playing while trailing in the second set of their first-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.

Thanasi Kokkinakis was warned for "bending the rules" as he called the physio during his marathon battle with Jack Draper in Melbourne.

A seething Thanasi Kokkinakis has described his ongoing pectoral muscle issues as “physical and mental torture” after losing a five-set epic at the Australian Open.

Australia’s Alex de Minaur has also come out in defence of fellow country Thanasi Kokkinakis, who has received criticism about prioritising exhibition events before preparing for the mega-events.

Thanasi Kokkinakis says he feels like he’s “letting people down”, with the doubles reunion of his 2022 Australian Open winning partner Nick Kyrgios “unlikely” after he suffered a recurrence of a pectoral injury in his second round loss at Melbourne Park.

Thanasi Kokkinakis managed to take the court and play doubles with Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open on Thursday night, but his injury saw the pair pull the plug while trailing 5-7 2-3 to fellow Aussies James Duckworth and Aleksandar Vukic.

Thanasi Kokkinakis has seen his Australian Open campaign ended in the second round by Brit Jack Draper. The popular Aussie, who battled to a gutsy four-set win over Roman Safiullin in the previous round,

Australian tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis has stunned his opponent with an amazing act of sportsmanship at a critical moment of their second-round Australian Open clash. British No.15 seed Jack Draper was serving at two sets to one down, and trailing by a break in the fourth when he was about to be denied a certain point after a long rally.

Jack Draper conjured the spirit of Andy Murray to claw his way back from the brink of defeat against home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open. Two years ago, Murray famously recovered from two sets and a break down against Kokkinakis to win a second-round match that finished at 4.05am.

Kokkinakis was forced to withdraw from the Adelaide International last week due to a shoulder injury, and his chances of a first-round win at the Australian Open looked dire. It led Aussie legend Woodbridge to question whether Kokkinakis should have been prioritising rest in the lead-up instead of playing exhibition events for the money.

Jack Draper said the abuse he received during his thrilling five-set Australian Open comeback over home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis inspired him to raise his level as the British No 1 reached the third round of the grand slam for the first time.