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Paul McNamee excited about Australian Open doubles final between Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis and Max Purcell and Matt Ebden

Marc McGowanNCA NewsWire
Paul McNamee (left) and Peter McNamara hold their 1980 Wimbledon doubles trophies aloft in 1980. Supplied
Camera IconPaul McNamee (left) and Peter McNamara hold their 1980 Wimbledon doubles trophies aloft in 1980. Supplied Credit: News Limited

One of the stars from the last all-local Australian Open men’s doubles final 42 years ago believes a title victory on Saturday night could be the making of Nick Kyrgios.

Kyrgios and close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis blazed their way past third-seeded Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos on Thursday to set up a clash with countrymen Max Purcell and Matt Ebden.

The ‘Special Ks’ have ruffled opponents’ feathers and electrified typically moribund and sparse doubles crowds in a way rarely seen before.

The Purcell-Ebden combination earlier upset No.2 seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in straight sets to make the drought-busting achievement possible.

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An all-Aussie decider in Melbourne hasn’t happened since Mark Edmondson and Kim Warwick defeated top seeds Paul McNamee and Peter McNamara 7-5 6-4 in 1980.

31/1/2000: Paul McNamee and Peter McNamara - Wimbledon doubles championss 1980. File pic 10047.2. p/ /tennis - wimbledon historical
Camera IconPaul McNamee (left) and Peter McNamara hold their 1980 Wimbledon doubles trophies aloft in 1980. Supplied Credit: News Limited

The ‘Super Macs’, as racquet brand Prince dubbed them on posters after their Wimbledon triumph later the same year, won three grand slam titles together, including an all-Australian final in 1979.

McNamee also partnered Edmondson, the last local men’s singles winner at the Australian Open in 1976, to the 1983 doubles championship in Melbourne.

Not since ‘The Woodies’, star Australian pairing Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, captured the imagination in the ‘90s and early 2000s – in a whole different way – has there been such intense interest.

“It’s given doubles a real injection of interest and thrown up a lot of questions, which is healthy,” McNamee told News Corp of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis.

“We need to get doubles back in the news, because it’s been a long time. I like the attention it’s getting. If it’s pushing the boundaries, well, that’s life.”

This is the second time Purcell has made the Australian Open final with a compatriot, joining Luke Saville to manage the feat two years ago.

But the vast majority of the publicity has centred on Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, who won the Wimbledon junior doubles final as a team in 2013.

Kyrgios and another Australian, Andrew Harris, won the Australian Open and Wimbledon doubles titles a year earlier – but McNamee thinks a win on Saturday would be legacy changing.

“It’s very important for Nick Kyrgios to get a grand slam against his name. There was a risk of him going his whole career and having no grand slams in the pool room,” McNamee said.

“That doesn’t sit very well with me, so this is a chance for him to at least win a grand slam title, and then from there he’s got something.

“I think it takes a little pressure off him as well, but he’s got to win, of course.”

There was a “grudge match” feel in the 1980 final between Melbourne and Sydney opponents, McNamee said, but he doesn’t expect the 2022 equivalent to mirror earlier matches this tournament.

For the record, the former Australian Open tournament director is tipping the “firepower” of new-age pairing Kokkinakis and Kyrgios to be too hot to handle for the more-traditional Purcell and Ebden.

Originally published as Paul McNamee excited about Australian Open doubles final between Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis and Max Purcell and Matt Ebden

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