Thanasi Kokkinakis gives injury update ahead of Aus Open, confirms Nick Kyrgios doubles plans
Thanasi Kokkinakis has given a cheeky injury update ahead of the Australian Open, and confirmed whether he and Nick Kyrgios will bring Special K back for the Men’s doubles.
Thanasi Kokkinakis thought about telling a fib because he was clearly still struggling with the truth about his Australian Open campaign.
Sadly yet again the big-serving Aussie has been struck down with injury and two days out from his first round match Kokkinakis had no idea whether his body would hold up.
After withdrawing from Brisbane with a hip issue, the 28-year-old got through to the quarter-finals of his favourite tournament, the Adelaide International, before he was forced to pull out of his quarter-final clash with Sebastian Korda on Thursday.
This time it was a shoulder injury which clearly hasn’t responded to treatment over the past couple of days.
“I can give you an honest answer or a fake one,” Kokkinakis said with a smile when asked about his preparation. “No, I’ve felt better, to be honest.
“I’m pretty frustrated, obviously pulling out last week was tough. I’m not sure how I’m going to go come Monday when I start. We’ll see, I’ve got a few things I need to work through.”
Kokkinakis described coming into the first major of the year under an injury cloud as the “worst feeling”.
“You feel like you do everything you can to kind of prepare and get as ready as you can be for what for me, is my most important event,” he said.
“Then when something doesn’t quite go right or it lets you down, it’s tough.
“The thing I work hardest on the most, recover, making sure I get into the best shape I can, when that fails you time and time again, that’s the one that is pretty head-scratching and pretty tough.
“But it is what it is at the end of the day, no-one cares if you roll out there. You’ve got to go out and play and see what you can do.”
Kokkinakis has a winnable opening match-up against Russian world No.62 Roman Safiullin.
But while his fortunes in the singles are under cloud, Kokkinakis confirmed he’d spoken with Nick Kyrgios and the Australian Open doubles champions from 2022 will be lining up again.
“I think both of us made a pact that unless we are seriously, seriously hurt badly we’re going to try to come out there even if we’re not feeling great,” he said.
“That’s one thing, we can rely on each other (in doubles) and play. We don’t know what we’re going to produce out there but for sure we’re going to take the court.
“Doubles is a lot of fun and so much easier physically, it’s not even comparable. I don’t think I’ve ever been sore after a doubles match in my life.
“It’s a lot easier physically and mentally as well when you have a mate you like playing with. And we haven’t played here since we won so I think it’s great and the crowd will love it.”
FELIX FIGHTS TO FIRST ADELAIDE TITLE
by Daniel Renfrey in Adelaide
Rising Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime has handed American Sebastian Korda his second Adelaide International final loss in three years and claimed his first ATP title since 2023.
The 24-year-old five seed, ranked world No. 29, produced some of his best tennis of the tournament in the final, claiming the first and third sets to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 over the second seed world No. 22.
Auger-Aliassime was at his best to open the match, serving consistently and blasting baseline winners on return to take the first set in 40 minutes.
Korda responded with a strong serve and volley approach in the second set but his underdog opponent would not be denied in the third, opening with an impressive break and blitzing through the remainder with elite serving and powerful groundstrokes.
A dynamic player when in top gear, Auger-Aliassime won 83 percent of his first serve points and also hit 13 more winners than Korda.
“Regarding the recent ups and downs and struggles I’ve had on the court, this means a lot,” Auger-Aliassime said.
“I never felt down in the match, even in the second set I had good looks at 5-3 I just thought I needed to keep doing what I was doing well and take my chances in the third and it was key to get that early break in the third.
“It was my best match of the week.
“Me and my team have put in a lot of hard work for some months so for that to pay off is gratifying.
The Canadian eliminated first seed American Tommy Paul in three sets to make the final and will enter the Australian Open in what looks close to career-best form.
KEYS CLAIMS ADELAIDE TITLE
by Daniel Renfrey in Adelaide
Madison Keys has claimed her second Adelaide International title with a strong upset win over top seed and close friend Jessica Pegula in three sets despite an injury scare.
The world No. 20 took the first set 6-3 in dominant fashion at Memorial Drive on Saturday night before quickly going down 3-0 to her fellow American in the second set.
She then left the court for a full injury timeout for an issue she said was “just one of those things that appeared” but returned to play to slowly edge her way back into the match despite dropping the second set 6-4.
Keys continued the momentum she built at the end of the second in the third set, the 2022 champion producing a number of powerful winners and serving flawlessly to take the decider 6-1.
The 29-year-old hit a huge 40 winners to 10 in what was arguably her best performance of the week.
“I’m really happy, I think I played really well in the first set and the third set and that’s all it needed to be.
“Jess is such a tough opponent and you have to be so on and I just knew coming into today that I had to be really good to beat her.
“I think you need to try to take the initiative as soon as you get it because the longer the point goes…that’s when Jess becomes her best.”
Unseeded for the tournament, Keys upset eighth seed Jelena Ostapenko in three sets and third seed Daria Kasatkina in straight sets on her way to the final.
She said her form had been an accumulation of a solid 2024 season and a strong off-season.
“I think I’ve been playing really well this season so far.
“I feel like there was a lot to build on after last year, I felt like I was playing some pretty good tennis and just didn’t have the consistency because of a few longer breaks with injury.
“It has been about taking all of the work we did last year and then having a really good off-season and just going for it.”
The last time Keys won the Adelaide International, she made the Australian Open semi finals.
The American eventually lost in straight sets to Ash Barty in that 2022 slam.
“I haven’t quite gotten my brain on to Melbourne yet…but I think when I’m playing good tennis a lot of good things can happen.
“Luckily Ash Barty isn’t here to embarrass me anymore so I have that going for me (laughing).”
GRAND SLAM HISTORY BECKONS FOR ALCARAZ
Novak Djokovic took until he was 29 years old to complete the career grand slam, Roger Federer didn’t get there until he was 27 while Rafael Nadal got it done by 24.
Carlos Alcaraz comes to Melbourne this year with history at his fingertips and a chance to put his name ahead of the three all-time greats.
The Spaniard can become the youngest male player in history to win each of the four grand slams if he can claim the Australian Open crown. He will be 21 and 266 days old at the end of the tournament taking him ahead of Don Budge who achieved the feat aged 22 back in 1938.
Alcaraz won his first grand slam at the US Open in 2022, ticked off Wimbledon in 2023 (he won it again in 2024) and then crossed the French Open off last year.
At last year’s Australian Open he reached the quarter-finals, losing in four sets to No.6 seed Alexander Zverev.
This time around he comes to town knowing if he is to make history, he will most likely have to do it by beating his biggest rival and world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
The pair shared all of the grand slams in 2024 and have started what experts have declared an “era-defining rivalry” similar to what Roger, Rafa and Novak have done over the past 20 years.
Alcaraz, who leads the head-to-head 6-4, conceded on Saturday that keeping up with Sinner is what drives him.
“When I’m playing against him I have a different mindset a little bit,” he said. “I mean when you are facing the best players or the best player in the world, you have to do something different, different preparation or different mindset or whatever.
“When I’m facing him, I just know I have to play my best if I want to win. That’s it. Probably if you have a bad day against Jannik, it’s 99 per cent that you’re going to lose.
“That’s what is in my mind every time that I’m going to play against him.
“The good thing for me is when I’m seeing him winning titles, when I’m seeing him in the top of the ranking, it forces me to practice even harder every day.
“In the practice, I’m just thinking about the things that I have to improve to play against him. That I think is great for me, having him, having such a great rivalry so far, just to give the best of me every day.”
Sinner, who last year became the first man since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam titles – Australian Open and US Open – in the same season, said there was a different feel about his matches against Alcaraz.
“You have more tension, you have more eyes on us because this is a match most people want to see,” Sinner, 23, said. “Obviously there are so many other great, great players that are in the mix … but first you have to arrive to this stage where you play against Carlos, which is a very difficult part to go through.
“When this happens, the feeling – I think he also feels the same way – it’s a bit different. (We are) young players, we usually play high-quality matches because when two players face each other and you bring out your best, the quality of the match usually is very high.
“At the end of the day it’s a tennis match. We try to do our best. Hopefully the people and the crowd enjoys.”
The pair have met three times in majors, Sinner winning the first match-up in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2022 but Alcaraz has had the advantage since, although both were epic matches.
He took out the Italian in five sets in the quarter-final of the 2022 US Open and then last year again won a five-set marathon in the semi-final of the French Open.
KESSLER CLAIMS HOBART TITLE
by Jon Tuxworth in Hobart
McCartney Kessler quashed Elise Mertens’ hopes of securing a third Hobart International crown after the American’s dominant third set iced victory in Saturday’s final.
Number two seed Mertens is the only player to win the title multiple times after she backed up her maiden WTA title in 2017 with a successful defence a year later.
But world no.67 Kessler ensured she would win her second WTA title with a 6-4 3-6 6-0 triumph.
The win adds to Kessler’s victory at Cleveland in August, and is the ideal tune up before she takes on China’s Shuai Zhang in the first round of the Australian Open.
Read more Hobart International coverage here.
ANXIOUS STARS WALKING ON EGGSHELLS
British grand slam champ Emma Raducanu has given an insight into the eggshells anxious tennis players are walking on when it comes to the fear of positive drugs test.
The former US Open champion revealed she had rejected medical treatment from an insect bite earlier this week ahead of the Australian Open because she didn’t want to fall foul of anti-doping rules.
With world No.1s Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek both failing doping tests last year – but later cleared of any fault by investigators due to contamination – all players are keeping a very close check on any substances they come into contact.
It meant the 22-year-old refused to use a spray for what she described as an allergic reaction to a bite.
“I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on-board, what we use,” Raducanu said.
“I mean, yesterday, for example, I got really badly bitten by I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess.
“They flared up and swelled up really a lot (smiling). Someone was, like, giving me this antiseptic spray, natural, to try to ease the bites. I didn’t want to take it. I didn’t want to spray it.
“I was just like left there with my swollen ankle and hand. I was, like, I’m just going to tough it out because I don’t want to risk it (laughter).”
SINNER SET FOR DAY IN COURT OVER ALLEGED DOPING
World number one Jannik Sinner will have his hearing into allegations of doping at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on April 16-17, the Lausanne-based body said on Friday.
The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cleared Sinner after he tested positive twice for the banned steroid clostebol in March last year.
“No parties requested a public hearing and it will be conducted behind closed doors,” CAS said in a statement.
The ITIA accepted defending Australian Open champion Sinner’s explanation that the drug entered his system when his physio used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.
Asked on the eve of the Australian Open if he knew when a verdict was due, the 23-year-old said: “I know exactly as much as you guys know.
“We are in a stage where we don’t know many, many things.” Sinner, who faces a stern first-round test at Melbourne Park against big-hitting Chilean Nicolas Jarry, admitted the scandal continued to play on his mind.
“You think about this, of course,” he said. “I would lie if I would tell you I forget.
“It’s something what I have with me now already for quite a long time. But it is what it is. I’m here trying to prepare the Grand Slam. Let’s see how it goes.” Sinner said he had always been “very, very careful on every single medicine I take, even what I eat”.
“When the bottle is open, I throw it away, I take a new one,” he said. “In my mind I know exactly what happened, and that’s how I block it (out). “I haven’t done anything wrong, that’s why I’m still here. That’s why I’m still playing.” ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi has insisted Sinner’s case was “run by the book”. “I genuinely believe there has been a lot of misinformation out there, which is unfortunate,” Gaudenzi told the Australian Associated Press in a recent interview.
“I am 100 per cent sure that there has not been any preferential treatment. The process has been run by the book and according to the rules, by the ITIA.”
Former world number one Novak Djokovic said he believed Sinner when he said he tested positive due to contamination, but the 24-time Grand Slam winner asserted that players had been “kept in the dark” throughout the process.
“I’ve been really frustrated, as have most of the other players, that we’ve been kept in the dark for five months,” Djokovic said.
“He (Sinner) received the news (of the positive tests) in April and the announcement was not until August, just before the US Open.
“The ATP has not really talked in depth about why they kept that case away from the public.”
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