Thanasi Kokkinakis has left the tennis world in awe after defying serious pain to seal a massive win in his singles comeback match, ahead of the Australian Open. Kokkinakis required regular medical treatment after suffering a flare-up of his shoulder injury against Sebastian Korda, but claimed the massive scalp of the American at the Adelaide International on Monday night.
A clearly struggling Kokkinakis prevailed 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) in what was his first singles outing since January 15 last year. The 29-year-old’s return to singles came after a lengthy spell on the sidelines when he had a dead person’s Achilles tendon surgically knotted between his right pectoral muscle and shoulder.
Thanasi Kokkinakis’ latest injury setback in his incredible win at the Adelaide International has cast doubts on his fitness ahead of the Australian Open. Pic: Getty
The radical surgery was the latest in a horror run of injuries for the Aussie star, who has treated home fans to plenty of thrilling marathon matches over the years. Monday night was another example of his will to battle through the pain, but Kokkinakis admits it could have come at a cost, with the Australian Open beginning in less than a week.
The 29-year-old has a protected ranking to enter the singles at Melbourne Park, where he’s also scheduled to play doubles with Nick Kyrgios. But first he’ll have to try and get up for the next match in Adelaide on Wednesday. And Kokkinakis admits is going to be pretty difficult.
Thanasi Kokkinakis under fresh injury cloud before Aus Open
“We are so far away from the courts tomorrow. I am going to be put on ice, try and take the strongest painkillers, and see as many physios as I can,” he said. “I know what tomorrow is looking like for me – and I don’t love it. Fingers crossed, the anti-inflammatories work some wonders.”
Kokkinakis was in agony during the second set against Korda but somehow managed to take the match into a deciding third stanza. Riding a wave of momentum and buoyed on by a raucous home crowd, he somehow came through a third set tiebreak to seal victory.
“I had a pec surgery, that was more muscle; this one is in my shoulder,” he said afterwards. “I have had a shoulder surgery as well, but that was probably caused from the surgery I had to the pec. So there’s a lot of niggles and a lot of things going on.”
Thanasi Kokkinakis overcame serious pain in his shoulder to down Sebastian Korda in three sets at the Adelaide International. Pic: Getty
When asked after the match whether he would have retired if it wasn’t a home tournament, Kokkinakis provided an insight into his love of playing in front of his home fans. “I probably wouldn’t have played to start to with,” he said candidly.
“I had conversations with my team: I was like: ‘At what cost am I playing? Even if I get through this match, so what? I had the surgery so I could back up matches and go through a tournament. But I’ll never really find out until I go through a long match and see where I’m at after.”
with agencies