Thanasi Kokkinakis emotional on return to Adelaide after opening win

Australia’s tennis stars spend 11 months travelling the world and so coming home could be the secret sauce for some big results.

Thanasi Kokkinakis says he was a bit “teary eyed” walking back on to court in Adelaide where he made a bold start to his bid to win his hometown title at the Adelaide International.

The South Australian had to wait until well after 10pm on Monday to play, and his two-hour match took him past midnight as he got the job done against his Japanese opponent in three sets.

Kokkinakis, who won at Memorial Drive in 2022, battled past Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours and 10 minutes to reach the second round of the ATP 250 event, driven by the local support.

“Match aside, just walking out here kind of gets me emotional to be honest. It’s crazy,” Kokkinakis told ATPTour.com.

Here’s what @TKokkinakis had to say following his enthralling win earlier tonight! ⭐️

Don’t miss your chance to watch him live: https://t.co/WrdxHNcOpc#AdelaideTennispic.twitter.com/rRC6sNVZ4B

— Adelaide International (@AdelaideTennis) January 6, 2025

“It’s pretty surreal to think a place where you grew up playing and training so many hours, you come out here and all these people are coming to watch you, so that kind of hit home a little bit when I was walking out there.

“I was honestly almost a little bit teary eyed when I walked out there. I just want to put on a good performance and just try my best out there ... The (fans) were incredible.”

The 28-year-old, now ranked 77 in the world having become a regular member of the top 100, is on the opposite side of the draw to top seed American Tommy Paul that could open a path back to another Adelaide final.