Bumper crowds are expected to flock to Melbourne Park this weekend as ideal weather conditions greet some marquee matches.

It started with a Todd Woodbridge sledge towards Thanasi Kokkinakis and to no one’s surprise, Nick Kyrgios entered the room to support his mate.

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.

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.

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis's bid to repeat their Australian Open doubles triumph of 2022 ended in retirement in on Thursday when the latter was unable to continue their first-round tie. Kokki

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.

Defending champion Jannik Sinner lost his first set since October but recovered to beat Tristan Schoolkate and reach the third round of the Australian Open. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

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

The 15th seed will face home favourite Kokkinakis on Wednesday, while Jacob Fearnley, Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart are also in second-round action.

Everything is heating up at Melbourne Park now as we move into the second round of the Australian Open.

Nick Kyrgios ' first round opponent at the Australian Open admits he had to delete Instagram after being drawn against the home favourite at Melbourne Park. And Aussie tennis great Todd Woodbridge has delivered a truth bomb to Thanasi Kokkinakis over a pre-tournament schedule that leaves the Aussie under an injury cloud heading into the year's first major.