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Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis breezed past Lloyd Harris and 46-year-old Julian Knowle in their Australian Open doubles first-round encounter.

In less than 24 hours, Nick Kyrgios went from Australian Open cult hero to playing in front of zero fans.

Yet you could not wipe the smile off the 25-year-old's face on Saturday after he and close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis advanced to the second round of the men's doubles.

In what resembled more of a schoolyard hit-around than a grand slam clash, the Aussie pair brushed aside South Africa's Lloyd Harris and 46-year-old Austrian Julian Knowle in a 6-2 6-4 win.

For the showman Kyrgios, it was a far cry from the previous night's enthralling clash with Dominic Thiem, which he lost in five sets in front of a heaving crowd just before Victoria's COVID-19 lockdown kicked in.

"We were very excited to play in front of fans on showcourt three on a Saturday arvo with everyone just getting p***ed," Kyrgios said.

"That would've been awesome to go out there and give them something to kind of go out with a bang.

"But it's good that we got the win today and good just to get our bodies moving as well."

Kyrgios sat out of tennis last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In April, he bluntly ruled out playing a grand slam without fans.

But circumstances changed rapidly on Friday when the Victorian government announced a snap five-day lockdown as a result of Melbourne's latest virus outbreak.

"It was tough hearing the news ... and I knew that it was going to affect our doubles match," Kyrgios said.

"But ultimately it is what it is and we've got to just abide by the rules and hopefully we can just finally get over this pandemic in Australia.

"The world's a bit far behind but hopefully by next year we can just not worry about everything and everyone can just have free movement outside and watch some of the best Aussies play.

"For now, we can't do much."

The only minor hitch for the 'Special Ks' in their doubles opener came when they were handed a code violation warning for being late to the court.

There were also a few disagreements with the chair umpire in a match that lasted little more than an hour.

But the pair enjoyed the relatively low-pressure experience, sharing jokes and laughing between points in conversations Kokkinakis described as only "one per cent" tactical.

"Maybe a little bit, but it was definitely more just rubbish," he said.

Kyrgios celebrated the win by appearing to mock rival Novak Djokovic with a sarcastic double fist-pump on his knees in front of the empty stands.

Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will take on fourth-seeded Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot in the second round.