Thanasi Kokkinakis wins opening round clash at Australian Open, fires back at Todd Woodbridge

Thanasi Kokkinakis has fired back at Todd Woodbridge’s criticism of his preparation with a cheeky jab, while revealing the extent of his injury woes after a four-hour marathon win.

A “cooked” Thanasi Kokkinakis has hit back at criticism that he prioritized money over preparing for his home Grand Slam but has conceded he may soon need a break to get his body right.

Pain-killing medication, a supportive Australian crowd and a fierce competitive streak helped get Kokkinakis through his first-round match against Russian Roman Safiullin at Kia Arena on Monday, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

However, the four-hour epic is likely to take its toll, with Kokkinakis conceding he may need to spend some extended time in ice baths before he faces a second-round clash against 15th see Jack Draper.

Kokkinakis regularly grabbed at his right shoulder throughout the match, an injury which forced him to withdraw from the Adelaide International earlier this month before the quarter-final.

Down but NEVER out 🇦🇺 @TKokkinakis

The Aussie saves 18 break points on his way to the second round in front of a bumper crowd on Kia Arena.@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025pic.twitter.com/mkR0Kqkv5c

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2025

He also “tweaked” a muscle in his right leg during the second set and struggled to move with any real freedom from that point on.

Kokkinakis turned to a section of his adoring crowd during the third set and appeared to say ‘I’m f----d’, but continued to battle on and stood up in the big moments to deny Safiullin a raft of break point opportunities.

The hard-fought victory over Safiullin came just hours after Kokkinakis had found himself under fire from Australian tennis great and commentator Todd Woodbridge, who questioned his preparation for the year’s first Grand Slam.

Thanasi Kokkinakis celebrates his win against Roman Safiullin on Kia Arena. Picture: Mark Stewart

Woodbridge – who also hosts television game show Tipping Point Australia – had told Nine that Kokkinakis had to “think hard about what he’s going to do to get the best tennis career out of himself”, questioning his decision to take money and play “exhibition matches that he didn’t need to”, including in Russia late last year.

“(He’s) trying to make a good living as well. That’s why he’s trying to host every game show there is under the sun,” Kokkinakis hit back when asked about the comments.

“We’re trying to make a living as much as he is. Unfortunately, ATP sometimes, if you make a semi-final of a 250 event, you don’t get as much as what you would playing an exhibition.

“I’ve been pretty vocal that the season’s too long but sometimes you’ve got to weigh up your options as far as trying to do what’s best for your career and best for the ranking.

Todd Woodbridge put the blowtorch on Kokkinakis this week. Picture: Tony Gough

“I missed a lot of years and a lot of money not playing with injuries and whatnot. So if I have opportunities that come up, the Laver Cup’s an incredible opportunity that I couldn’t turn down. I obviously played a lot of Davis Cup as well, which no one mentioned.

“It’s tough when people comment when they have no idea the injury or what sort of tennis I’m playing through. I haven’t lost this year. Yes, I picked up something, but it has nothing to do with my off-season.”

Kokkinakis said the shoulder injury was something he had been “playing through for the last five years”.

“I didn’t listen to my body and I listened to the experts and it put me in a bit of a hole,” he said.

“So I’ll have to look at doing something, probably after the Australian Open.”

Kokkinakis said he still hoped to play doubles with good friend Nick Kyrgios during this tournament unless his “arm has fallen off the bone”.

Originally published as Thanasi Kokkinakis wins opening round clash at Australian Open, fires back at Todd Woodbridge