Australian Open 2022: Adelaide International champion Thanasi Kokkinakis reflects on his return to tennis spotlight
Thanasi Kokkinakis is the toast of Australian tennis after his Adelaide title triumph - but what comes next for him?
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Thanasi Kokkinakis had the Novak Djokovic experience in Miami last year.
Unbeknown to the Australian tennis player, his visa was accidentally cancelled via Washington and he spent about four hours detained in an airport backroom while it was sorted out.
A few months later, while trying to head to Mexico after Wimbledon, Kokkinakis was delayed by 24 hours when he didn’t have the required PDF copy of a negative PCR Covid-19 test.
Trekking the globe on the tennis tour isn’t as glamorous as it seems, especially when – as in Kokkinakis’ case – you’re forced to play off Broadway, in front of a man and his dog, to rebuild your ranking.
It’s unrecognisable from his extraordinary first fortnight of this year.
In the comforts of home at Adelaide, in front of an adoring crowd, Kokkinakis rounded out his Australian Open preparations with a maiden ATP singles title, after reaching a semi-final the week previous.
Rafael Nadal might be waiting for him in a round two blockbuster next week.
“It’s a bit of a s---show, travelling,” Kokkinakis told News Corp.
“I don’t think I’ve had (the Djokovic detention) for as many days, but I did have it for a few hours in the backroom. It was just annoying, and travelling can be really difficult.
“If that was my life for the next 10 years, I’d probably just pack up shop – it wasn’t much fun.”
Kokkinakis is again the talk of Australian tennis, a throwback to his introduction to the world as a teenage hotshot eight years ago.
Roger Federer, Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios were among the big stars to congratulate him and revel in his breakthrough Adelaide win.
Kokkinakis’ journey to this point was a wild one of sponsors jumping on and off, as well as skyscraping highs and crippling lows.
Between titanic victories over the likes of Federer – a positive memory in Miami – Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych, constant injuries derailed his hugely promising career.
He played the Australian Open boys’ final against Nick Kyrgios with a back stress fracture and his other ailments range from glandular fever, a career-threatening shoulder injury, pectoral tears and abdominal, groin, knee and elbow issues.
After reaching his career-high ranking of No.69 months after his 19th birthday, Kokkinakis started this year – at age 25 – as the world No.171 and having spent most of 2021 toiling at Challenger level.
“You kind of walk around the cafes, locker rooms and tennis centres and see people who used to stop you for a chat, just walk straight past,” he said.
“Then all of a sudden when you get a few wins, it switches around again. I remember that and kind of have a little smirk about it, but it is what it is.
“Everyone loves a winner. When you’re winning, everything’s rosy, but when you’re not, everyone’s pretty quick to jump off.”
Kokkinakis’ family, closest friends and coaches – Todd Langman and Todd Ley – were among the exclusive group to remain by his side through thick and thin.
Strength and conditioning guru Jona Segal, formerly North Melbourne’s high performance boss, joined Team Kokkinakis a year ago and helped remedy the injury woes.
They mapped out a plan at the start of last year to play 25 tournaments. Kokkinakis ended up competing in 27.
There’s been more emphasis on rest days and being aware of his aches and pains.
“It was about knowing when to kind of hold back, especially being my first full year getting back on tour,” he said.
“I had to rein it in a little bit and be a bit more careful, week to week.”
Kokkinakis gained new respect last year for the so-called battlers on the Challenger Tour but also wants to leave that “depressing” environment behind.
His blistering fortnight in Adelaide means he will start the Australian Open ranked No.103. He was last inside the top 100 almost six years ago.
So how far does Kokkinakis think he can go?
“I don’t think I can put a ranking limit or anything on what I can do,” he said.
“I might have reached my peak, I might not have, but I personally think I’ve got a lot more to give.
“It’s hard, because there are a lot of guys you think, ‘How did he make top 10’ or ‘I beat this guy a few years ago and he made top 20’.
“Then there are other guys – maybe I’m an example – where you’re like, ‘Oh, he should be at this ranking but his career high is this’, so it’s really hard to predict.”
Go to the Thirsty Camel Victoria Facebook page to watch Thanasi Kokkinakis tell a behind-the-scenes story on his defeat of Roger Federer
Djoker sends DM to Aussie mid-visa hearing
Thanasi Kokkinakis has scored some heavyweight support following his maiden tournament win on home soil.
First it was Roger Federer who slid into the Aussie’s social media direct messages to congratulate him.
That was followed by Novak Djokovic, who sent Kokkinakis a message of support in the middle of his visa hearing with the Australian government.
“Congrats on your maiden title in home town, Thanasi. After all the hardship injuries have caused you, I am sure this feels even sweeter,” Djokovic wrote.
“You deserve it! Great for tennis. Good luck in Melbourne.”
The resurgent South Australian completed a boyhood dream-of-sorts when he won the Adelaide International Two title on Saturday night to cap an extraordinary start to his season.
Kokkinakis out-duelled fast-rising Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 6-7(6-8) 7-6(7-5) 6-3 in a battle of serving savants in front of a heaving crowd at The Drive.
“Maiden title at home big fella. Love the sound of that Thanaser. Amazing.... Keep going,” Federer wrote.
Kokkinakis better figure out some new goals for this year.
The raw emotion of years of setbacks spilled over after Rinderknech’s last backhand ballooned beyond the baseline to seal Kokkinakis’ maiden ATP singles title.
He dropped to the court to kiss the Adelaide insignia on the court he grew up playing on and watching the stars he would eventually join.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt emotions like that. You grow up playing and you never know if it’s going to happen,” Kokkinakis said.
“To do it in Adelaide, on a court I grew up playing on when I was seven, eight, nine years old and in front of friends and family – they’ve had a tough year, they’ve ridden the ups and downs with me – I’m so happy.”
It was Kokkinakis’ fourth-straight three-setter and the third time this week he rallied from a set down, on his fifth-consecutive day of playing.
That’s an achievement in itself for a player who was ravaged by injuries for the best part of five years before last season and even written off in some quarters as an elite prospect.
To put Kokkinakis’ fortnight into perspective, he won only five ATP Tour-level matches in the past three years but scored eight of them in making a semi-final then winning his maiden singles title.
He will surge to No.103 in the rankings on Monday and within sight of a long-awaited return to the top 100 – his top priority, aside from staying healthy, for 2022.
Kokkinakis was last in that elite company almost six years ago.
In a quirk, the 25-year-old will also leapfrog close friend Nick Kyrgios in the rankings for the first time in nine years, back when they were still starry-eyed teenagers.
“When I’m having good wins and playing in front of a packed house, it reminds you why you keep doing it and why you get up in the morning and do those training sessions,” Kokkinakis said.
“Or why you spend countless hours rehabbing what look like injuries that you might never come back from.
“It just makes it all worth it, as I said, in front of mum and dad and seeing the tears in their eyes when I went to hug them after the match.
“They’re the moments you live for. Not a lot of people get the opportunity to win a title and for me to do it at home, kind of in my comeback (makes it extra special).
“I hope this is just the beginning for me but if this is as good as it gets, I’m content as well, to be honest.”
Kokkinakis had to dig deep, with Rinderknech – who will make his top-50 debut next week and play his first Australian Open – unerringly brilliant on serve for most of the first two sets.
In fact, each player had to escape a deuce game only once until that stage of the match and they finished with a combined 33aces.
But Kokkinakis was forced into catch-up mode when he dumped a tense forehand into the net to drop the opening set, after neither player conceded on serve in the first 13 points of the tie-break.
After serving his way out of a deuce danger game early in the second set, Kokkinakis remained frustrated as he continued to make minimal inroads on Rinderknech’s serve.
The first signs of a wobble from the Frenchman came in the 12th game of the second set, as he missed a series of first serves for the first time all match.
Kokkinakis dropped the first two points of the tie-break but snatched the next five on his way to levelling the match.
Rinderknech never recovered, spraying a forehand long to offer up the first break point in the opening game of the third set, which Kokkinakis gleefully accepted.
The Australian proved an irresistible frontrunner and avoided having to serve the match out, with Rinderknech gifting him a second break with a loose final game.
Kokkinakis noticed sponsors drop off, fewer messages on his phone and even people who used to stop him for a chat keep walking when he became the forgotten man of tennis.
But he long ago shrugged that off, realising the never-failing support of his family and coaches, Todd Langman and Todd Ley, was far more important.
“Everyone wants to pat you on the back and message you (when things are going well) and then when you’re on the other side, a lot of people don’t really care,” Kokkinakis said.
“It took me by surprise the first couple of years but the last three years, I kind of stopped caring about what other people thought, because I knew it was part of it.
“Everyone loves a winner, I get that, but ... when you’re an injured player and you’re not spending too much time playing, if you’re a big company, why would you want to sponsor someone?
“So, it makes sense to me but now I’m just happy. I’m on the front foot and my body feels great. As I said, I hope this is just the beginning for me and onwards and upwards.”
Kokkinakis boarded a flight to Melbourne on Saturday night and will play German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann at the Australian Open on Monday before a potential second-round clash with Rafael Nadal.
Originally published as Australian Open 2022: Adelaide International champion Thanasi Kokkinakis reflects on his return to tennis spotlight
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