Second round men's doubles result, Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic defeated, eliminated

Tennis' odd couple of Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic have had their doubles campaign cut short by No.1 seeds Nikola Mektić and Michael Venus in the second round at the Brisbane International.

Kyrgios and Djokovic produced a stunning comeback in the second set to force a deciding 10-point tie-break where they led but ultimately could not bring down the more experienced partnership.

Mektić and Venus triumphed 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 to progress to the third round at the warm-up tournament.

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Novak Djokovic reacts during his men's doubles match partnered with Nick Kyrgios against Michael Venus and Nikola Mektic. Chris Hyde via Getty Images

The match kicked off in exhilarating fashion with a toe-to-toe rally which featured two tweener shots from Kyrgios.

The 31-shot point left had the commentators and crowd in awe.

"Oh wow," Peter Psaltis said in commentary for Nine.

"'Call it off now', says Novak. It doesn't get any better [than that].

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"What a point. What a moment. Point of the year."

The opening set played out on serve until the Mektić-Venus pairing broke in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead.

Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios during their second-round doubles match at the 2025 Brisbane International. Chris Hyde via Getty Images

Showing off their doubles expertise, the pair then secured a double break before going on to claim the first set 6-2.

With the opportunity to break serve at 40-all in the fourth game of the second set, Kyrgios and Djokovic deviated away from their standard plan with the Australian chosen to return serve.

While a risky move to go against the talent of the 24-time grand slam champion, the Kyrgios backhand proved a winning formula as Mektic sent the ball sailing over the baseline.

Riding on a huge momentum swing, the duo went on to claim the second set 6-3 and force a 10-point tie-break to decide the match.

Locked at 3-3 at the change ends, the rivals could not be split as a shock upset gathered steam.

With the crowd at Pat Rafter Arena riding every point, Djokovic and Kyrgios took control with a mini-break.

However, an uncharacteristic double fault from Djokovic triggered a late fight-back from Mektić and Venus to leapfrog the crowd favourites and take out the win.

Djokovic will be back in action on the singles court on Thursday.

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