A surly Nick Kyrgios threatened to walk out of a press conference before hitting back at the 'salty' opponent who branded him an 'absolute knob'

• Nick Kyrgios pulled no punches after reaching the final of the men's doubles at the Australian Open.
• The Australian threatened to walk out when asked a strange question about ticket prices.

Nick Kyrgios threatened to walk out of a press conference before hitting back at the opponent who branded him an "absolute knob" after reaching the final of the men's doubles at the Australian Open.

Kyrgios and his countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis produced another stunning performance to beat third seeds Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers in the semifinals on Thursday to set up an all-Australian final against Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden.

As it so often is, the explosive Aussie's temper was on full display during the match when in the second set he smashed a racket and screamed at the chair umpire after his serve was broken.

And after the match, tensions still appeared to be running high.

When asked a strange question by a reporter about ticket prices for the final and how he plans to excite a crowd that has spent more money, Kyrgios said: "These questions are so depressing.

"We have four Aussies in the final. Can we stop dividing which crowd is going to go for who?

"It's just amazing we got four Aussies in the final. Ash [Barty] is doing her thing. It's Dylan [Alcott]'s last Australian Open. Can we up the energy a little bit? It's fucking awesome.

"Can we have some hype questions? Because I'd rather just walk out right now."

Later at the press conference, Kyrgios was then asked about the negative comments the New Zealand doubles player Michael Venus made about him on Wednesday.

Venus called Kyrgios an "absolute knob" and accused him of being immature after losing to him and Kokkinakis in the quarterfinals.

The 34-year-old was unhappy with the treatment he received from the raucous crowd at the Show Court Arena, which had been egged on by the Australian partnership.

"It felt like a circus out there and not really a tennis match," said Venus. "Between serves [Kyrgios and Kokkinakis] were geeing the crowd up and getting them to cheer at times like that. I don't think that's really on.

"You know if it's on the other foot, old mate [Kyrgios] would have flipped his lid."

Questioned about Venus' comments, Kyrgios said: "Michael Venus, I'm not going to destroy him in this media conference room right now.

"But Zeballos and Granollers are singles players. They've had great careers. I respect them a lot more than I respect Michael Venus.

"I think the balance was there today. The quality of tennis was amazing. I think the festival atmosphere was still there. I think they embraced it. They knew it was an incredible atmosphere.

"Zeballos took a selfie with us before we walked out. That's how you embrace an atmosphere. You're not losing a match and then getting salty about it afterwards. It's ridiculous."