Thanasi Kokkinakis shared his thoughts on the Australian Open crowd following a crushing defeat to Jack Draper at Melbourne Park.
The 28-year-old served for the chance to book his spot in the third round of his home Grand Slam for the first time.
But Jack Draper battled back from the brink and broke to love, before winning three successive games to send the match into a fifth and deciding set.
The crowd were heavily behind Kokkinakis, but he was unable to overcome the resilient Draper, who defeated the Aussie player for the third time in four meetings.
What did Thanasi Kokkinakis think of the Australian Open crowd during his defeat to Jack Draper?
Once again Thanasi Kokkinakis fell short in his quest to reach the Australian Open third round. The player’s 6-7(3), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 defeat meant that each of his matches with Draper went to a deciding set.
The John Cain Arena crowd certainly played their part in trying to get him over the line, and the crowd even resorted to booing Draper at times.
During his post-match press conference, Kokkinakis was asked if the crowd perhaps crossed a line, to which he replied: “I played Great Britain in Manchester in the Davis Cup.
“It was the same thing over there. Yeah, I think they were to be expected. I think they were great. I mean, always incredible.
“I was very doubtful about going out there. Not because of my tennis, just I didn’t want to pull out and let people down.
“I know it had been raining, and they were waiting a while to come out and watch. I knew the energy would be incredible. It’s why we train so hard and why we want to get out there and lay it all out there. Yeah, it’s just a tough way to go out, for sure.”
What happened when Thanasi Kokkinakis played Jack Draper at the 2023 Davis Cup?
Kokkinakis went up against Draper for the first time when they represented their countries in the round robin stage of the 2023 Davis Cup, which was held on British soil.
Draper had the crowd on his side this time, and they willed him to a comeback 6-7(6)- 6-3 7-6(4) victory on his David Cup debut. Dan Evans then defeated Alex de Minaur to ensure Britain won the tie and by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Post-match, Kokkinakis expressed how happy he was to play in front of the British crowd, as he said about his own fans when he played Draper at the Australian Open.
This shows that he stuck by his judgement and backed the crowd even when they are against him. “It was a pleasure to play in front of that crowd, but it was disappointing,” Kokkinakis said at the time.
“It was a tight match throughout, I had golden opportunities and I just let my nerves get to me a little bit.”
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