A refreshed Thanasi Kokkinakis is keeping his Adelaide title defence expectations in check amid the “Djokovic show”, even as he tries to transform into a hungrier, more mentally strong athlete.
The South Australian is the crowd favourite as he returns to the scene of his extraordinary fortnight last January, when he put years of injury woe behind to reach a semi-final then snatch his maiden ATP Tour title.
That breakthrough delivered numerous rewards but came at a cost, with Kokkinakis struggling in a first-round Australian Open singles defeat.
Thanasi Kokkinakis and Novak Djokovic are both playing in Adelaide this week.Credit:Getty Images
The “burnt out” 26-year-old also struggled to replicate those feats once his home summer ended, which included his unlikely doubles title with Nick Kyrgios at Melbourne Park.
Knee and abdominal setbacks, as well as sinus surgery, didn’t help his cause either.
“The tennis tour is tough, especially for Australians. I think that’s been pretty well documented,” Kokkinakis said.
“Last year was my first year on tour for a long time – travelling and playing week in, week out – and I struggled with that.
“I struggled seeing guys and they’re playing every week, and hungry every week. To get my ranking up, that’s where I need to get to, and that’s the mentality I need, which I haven’t quite had yet.
“I want to focus on that this year, but I feel good. I’ve spent the last couple of days sort of freshening up a bit, and I feel ready to go.”
Thanasi Kokkinakis with his 2022 Adelaide trophy.Credit:Getty Images
Kokkinakis, ranked No.93 in the world, is technically not the defending champion until next week’s Adelaide International Two.
That is just as well, given nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic headlines a ridiculously strong field this week that includes Felix Auger Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner.
They are all inside the best 15 men’s players in the world, with the other two seeds – Denis Shapovalov and Karen Khachanov – former top-10 stars who are still ranked in the top 20.
Kokkinakis, who faces American Maxime Cressy in his Adelaide opener before a potential clash with Sinner, hopes that “absurd” competition is factored into whatever critiques are to come of his performance. “There’s pressure on because everyone’s like, ‘Defending champion; can he do it again?’. I don’t think they realise how hard that is. That’s my best tournament ever,” he said.
“It’s happened in I don’t know how many years of tennis I’ve played, so it’s not about, ‘Yeah, I’ll defend it, no worries’. Djokovic is playing, [and he’s the] best-ever, or one of the best-ever.
“It’s a crazy field, but I always love the support when I come down here.”
Former world No.1 Djokovic, preparing to play his first tournament in Australia since his deportation drama last year, is, perhaps, the only player attracting more interest than Kokkinakis.
“And for good reason,” Kokkinakis said. “I mean, stats-wise and everything like that, he’ll probably end up being the best-ever to do it, at least in the short-term, anyway.
“It’s no surprise he’s got crazy fans. The Serbs love it, and get behind him. He’s got massive support down under, with how well he’s done in Australia as well, at [the] Aussie Open, but everywhere you look, there’s a top-10 guy hitting with a top-10 guy.
“It’s almost like Medvedev is flying under the radar, or Holger, who just won Paris Masters, is flying a bit under the radar. Felix had a massive back-end of last year.
“It’s obviously going to be the Djokovic show, but there are a lot of good players who are more than capable of winning this title.”
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