The Australian Open is in full swing and on Wednesday night, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jack Draper played out a classic in the John Cain Arena.
Kokkinakis was bidding to reach the third round of the singles at the Australian Open against Draper who after a breakthrough year in 2024 is now ranked number 15 in the world.
When the dust settles, Kokkinakis might look back on this match with some regrets. He was inches away from victory when he was serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set but saw his serve broken and eventually the set lost.
Draper eventually claimed a second successive five-set victory. The Great Britain number one came through 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a match that went on for over five hours.
Both Draper and Kokkinakis have endured fitness concerns going into the tournament. It was a real battle at times on the court, with Kokkinakis causing a bit of a stir when calling for the trainer during the match.
Thanasi Kokkinakis shares details of injury after losing to Jack Draper
After receiving some treatment it looked as though Kokkinakis had found some rhythm and stability in the match, with Draper firmly on the ropes for a lot of this second-round clash.
It appeared to be a shoulder issue that was causing concern for Kokkinakis. The crowd did their best to try and stir the Australian player into life as he approached the finish line.
Afterwards, in his press conference, Kokkinakis admitted something extremely worrying about his injury and things might not improve any time soon for the player.
He said: “Honestly, I aggravate it every time I win a couple of rounds in an event or I play a long one. I couldn’t play against Korda last week because of it. I was feeling it against Etcheverry. I felt it in my first-round match.
“It’s honestly an everyday thing. I just try to take my days off. Days off in Grand Slams, I try not to hit at all. I try to do everything I can recovery-wise to heal it. It’s frustrating because the rest of my body feels great. It’s just this one injury. It affects my serve and my forehand. They’re my two biggest strengths.”
Kokkinakis was quizzed over the concept of surgery. It would appear, however, that going under the knife offers no guarantees for the 28-year-old.
He continued: ” I don’t know. I don’t know. There are no guarantees with surgery. I got told my shoulder surgery was going to be ready, I’d be healed up in three months. Ended up taking me a year and a half to get back.
“There’s no guarantees with surgery. One thing is for sure: I can’t keep doing what I’m doing. It’s mental torture and physical torture.”
Kokkinakis to play doubles with Nick Kyrgios
These comments do offer some concern ahead of tomorrow’s doubles opener for Kokkinakis and Kyrgios with both players struggling during their matches in the singles draw.
The pair are due on court tomorrow to open their campaign in the doubles. In fairness, it might be a good thing that Kokkinakis is out of the singles and that probably makes him more likely to play doubles.
The highlight of Kokkinakis’ career came in 2022 when he lifted the doubles title at the Australian Open with Kyrgios, sparking amazing and emotional scenes in the pair’s home country.
It remains to be seen what shape the pair will be in tomorrow when they take to the court. Both will be gutted with how their singles campaign went but the doubles offers them a genuine chance to shine.
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