Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis Leading New Aussie Golden Generation

After a few lean years, with the cooling down of legend Lleyton Hewitt, Australian men’s tennis is off and running once again. A potentially thrilling 10 years or so is on the way for fans Down Under, as they possess a stack of young talent about to rise up the ranks. Close friends and fellow tall teenagers Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, the "Special K's," are the ones with the spotlight on them most.

Kyrgios became a household name at Wimbledon 2014, after he stunned two-time champion Rafael Nadal in four sets, with a nerveless and confident display of raw serving power. It’s fair to say that his reputation would have increased regardless of the outcome of that match, though, after this moment of absolute genius on the world’s most famous tennis court:

The 19-year-old hasn’t just been able to fly up the rankings with ease, though, since that trip to the quarterfinals on the grass of SW19. He struggled in the hard-court season at the end of last year, ending 2014 early because of physical and mental fatigue.

At the start of 2015, despite being bothered by a back injury, he managed to fight into his second Slam last eight; this time at his home Australian Open. The experience and consistency of eventual finalist Andy Murray was too much for him, though, in the quarters. The home crowd really got behind Kyrgios in Melbourne, suggesting that he could be a fan favourite for many years to come.

He currently sits at No. 37 in the rankings and has some serious weapons that could propel him into the top 10 in the next few seasons. Clearly, his serve can do a lot of damage. It’s a fast, smooth motion that he can get into a very quick rhythm on, thumping down consecutive aces on players. The International Premier Tennis League at the end of 2014 was perfect for his style of play, as he loves playing quickly, which is what the fans love too (Roger Federer being your prime example).

His forehand is powerful too, yet, while it can come up strong occasionally, the backhand is nowhere near as dangerous. His return game leaves something to be desired, too. According to ATPWorldTour.com, he’s won 10 percent of return games played in 2015. Last year, which gives us a better overall representation, he won 14 percent. The top returners like Nadal and Novak Djokovic won 35 and 33 percent, respectively. So he is a long way behind them, and it’s a significant area for improvement as he gets older and wiser.

He gets extremely vocal on court as well, beating himself up considerably when things aren’t going smoothly. Repeated swearing cost him a game in last year’s U.S. Open, and he was also in trouble for expletives in Melbourne at the start of 2015. That is something that certainly needs to be brushed up on by his coaching team, as it will only hinder him.

What Kyrgios does have, though, is that showman’s instinct; that ability to pull out a piece of skill and wow the crowd. That’s something that shouldn’t be changed about him: his ability to play on instinct. Also, he’s a man for the big stage and can raise his game for the most important tournaments.

However, he narrowly lost to Grigor Dimitrov in a third-set tiebreak in Indian Wells the other night, with a turn on his ankle affecting him toward the end of that match.

His good pal Thanasi Kokkinakis has also been creating ripples recently. He scored a famous victory in front of a patriotic crowd at the Australian Open, taking out No. 13 seed Ernests Gulbis in the opening round, 8-6 in the fifth set. He was beaten by countryman Sam Groth in his next match, though.

He came through qualifying in his next three tournaments after Melbourne, at Memphis, Delray Beach and Acapulco. Then ‘Kokk’, as he’s nicknamed, set up a terrific victory for Australia in the Davis Cup, coming back from two sets down to defeat Czech Lukas Rosol in the tie’s first rubber.

As a wild card, he has so far reached the third round at Indian Wells, beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the No. 23 seed, along the way. That progress will deservedly increase his ranking even further.

The 18-year-old from Adelaide has a similar game to Kyrgios, with a big serve and forehand. But his groundstrokes are arguably more consistent and less explosive. He is also calmer on the court. Maybe it is Kokkinakis’ turn to make a run into the second week of a Grand Slam later in 2015.

We said the Aussies had a wealth of talent in the men’s game, and that’s proved by the fact that we haven’t even mentioned their highest-ranked player yet.

It feels like ages ago that Bernard Tomic made his mark by reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals back in 2011, while at a similar age to Kyrgios, actually. His career both on- and off-court hasn’t been short of controversy since then—and disappointment too, arguably.

He has had problems with the law, with Tennis Australia over his lack of effort and work ethic, and with his father John, who attacked a member (via ABC) of his son’s team back in 2013. Another low point was last year in Miami when he lost the shortest completed ATP match on record. Tomic was just coming back from injury, but he was beaten 6-0, 6-1 by Jarkko Nieminen in just 28 minutes, winning only 13 points.

Still, perhaps 2015 is a fresh start for the still-young (only 22) Aussie stud. He’s had a promising start to the year, reaching lots of quarterfinals and the Australian Open fourth round again. He won two singles rubbers against the Czech Republic for his country, and his ranking has gone up significantly, from No. 71 on January 12 to No. 35 on March 9 (via ATPWorldTour.com). Watch out for Tomic at Wimbledon this year, as he seems to enjoy playing on grass.

Another Aussie to keep your eyes peeled for is 17-year-old Omar Jasika. The left-hander is the reigning U.S. Open junior singles and doubles champion.

In remarks to The Guardian, Pat Cash was full of praise and optimism for him:

“He is a real talent…he is a little guy but he reminds me of Marcelo Rios and Rios got to No. 1. He is a little lefty, but he really hits the ball hard and fast. He has got a good game and he works hard.”

When asked whether this potential "golden generation" of Australian men’s tennis could come to fruition, Jasika said: “I hope so. Let’s hope so…Can’t really say anything too early. I guess we’ll have to see.”

Just after Jasika’s big wins in New York, Kyrgios actually tweeted for people to stop getting carried away: “Sorta wishing that the media will leave @OJasika alone. Just let him play tennis. Always hyping everything up. #DejaVu”.

While it is still early days in the careers of these charismatic Aussie players, tennis fans in Australia have every right to be getting extremely excited about what the next few years, if not 2015, could bring. Their Davis Cup dismantling of the Czechs proved that the other week. With a tie against Kazakhstan next up, the men decked out in gold could go all the way and put a firm stamp on men’s tennis in 2015.