Thanasi Kokkinakis

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Barty]

[Damian]

[Mario]

Jeśli po AO pojawiły się jakieś nadzieje odnośnie tego człowieka, to chyba zostały błyskawicznie ugaszone. Mamy trzeci tydzień gry po Melbourne, tymczasem nasz bohater (gracz z trzeciej setki rankingu) ani myśli, by postawić stopę na korcie.

[Kiefer]

O rzeczywiście, zapomniałem o nim, ani myśli, czy znowu kontuzja?

[Mario]

Wrzucał filmiki z treningów, więc nie sądzę.

[Kiefer]

To faktycznie nieporozumienie, ale trochę kasy wpadło w Melbourne, może chwilowo styknie. Albo jakiś paniczny strach przed covidem i niechęć opuszczania własnego gniazda.

[Mario]

Chyba Acapulco będzie grane.

[DUN I LOVE]

Meksyk to jego druga ojczyzna niemal .

[Bombardiero]

Thanasi is on fire!

[Damian]

KOKKINAKIS RISING FROM DARKNESS AS FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT

Spoiler:

In the last five years of his professional tennis life, Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis has endured nothing short of frustration and uncertainty. With plaguing injuries and a mental health battle at different times threatening his tennis career. It would have been easy to understand how the talented young man might have given up the game he loves.

Despite the bumpy road of the past, 2021 has started on a positive note for Kokkinakis. With a strong performance at the Australian Open, Kokkinakis went down to Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in five epic sets.

Most recently he was trying to qualify for the Mexican Open over in Acapulco. He started the week well, managing to defeat Swiss Henri Laaksonen 6-1, 6-3 in the first round. Unfortunately, he went down to Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in three tight sets in the second round 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

The simple sight of Kokkinakis being back out on court, looking fit and healthy is a great story.

Most fans who watch professional sportsman ply their trade probably do not have a true appreciation for how hard these athletes work behind the scenes. For the casual sports observer it might seem like a great lifestyle. Traveling the world, being super fit, collecting big pay days and getting invited to red carpet events, which most of us could only dream of.

For every Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal there are thousands of young men and women dedicating everything to try and turn a dream into a reality. The truth for most players who have their eyes on the prize of a professional career, is it does not eventuate. For a player like Kokkinakis, it would have been a tragedy if he had of been lost to the game of tennis.

The South Australian native burst onto the professional tennis scene and reached a career high ranking of 69th at only 19 years of age back in 2015. He was even able to secure a famous victory over former number one Roger Federer. At that stage of his career, it seemed there would be no-limits on how far he would be able to push himself up the rankings.

Life can be mysterious sometimes, one minute you have it all. The next you are fighting for your sporting survival. Several injuries have halted the progress of the talented 24-year-old.

The unpredictability of his injuries has seen nearly every part of his body effected. His knees and elbows, shoulders and pectoral muscles, his back and his groin. This would have been enough to break some people. He looked like he was finally fit and firing in the Australian summer of 2020, but unfortunately had to pull out of the tournament due to glandular fever.

What does not kill you, can only make you stronger. This is the type of saying I can see Kokkinakis living by.

Journalist Neroli Meadows recently interviewed Thanasi Kokkinakis on her podcast ‘Ord neroli Speaking’. Kokkinakis gave an honest insight into how dark times got during that difficult period.

“Depression was a real thing. I’d walk into cafes and get really bad anxiety and I was, like, ‘I’ve got to get out of here’,” Kokkinakis said. “I would just be crying in my room for no reason,” he said. “I would get anxiety just going for a walk when there was no one in the vicinity of 100 meters from me. It was weird and I couldn’t really explain it.’

“Over time s**t changed and I just felt more comfortable and felt fine. Started going to the gym again, built myself up physically and that helped me.”

In the modern world of social media and young people being under so much pressure to present themselves as almost perfect, it was refreshing to hear a young man speak about his hardships on such a public forum.

With mental health being such a real issue, not only in professional sport but the wider community, Kokkinakis is a public figure and has shown how you can be down but not out.

“I don’t want to sound all doom and gloom here cause I’m good now,” Kokkinakis declared.

“It’s a real dark place and I don’t want anyone to go through it because as bad as the physical pain is the mental pain is way, way worse.”

With Kokkinakis seemingly past both his mental and physical battles, the future looks bright for one of Australia’s most talented tennis players. Let us hope the good run continues for Kokkinakis and we can see him reach his full potential by playing a full year on tour without any disruptions. He will feature in Miami Qualifying this week coming.

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https://www.thefirstserve.com.au/blog/k ... oks-bright

[Bombardiero]

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

Kokkinakis Fires Up For Miami, Where He Once Shook The Tennis World

Spoiler:

Australian qualifies in Miami to book second main draw berth of 2021
The highs of pushing Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets before a home crowd on Rod Laver Arena last month are a far cry from the sparse qualifying courts Thanasi Kokkinakis has competed on since. But it is a journey the 24-year-old accepts on another long road back following a year sidelined.

On Tuesday, the 24-year-old scored a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Spaniard Mario Vilella Martinez in the final round of qualifying at the Miami Open presented by Itau. It booked his second main draw appearance of the season, following his run to the second round of this year’s Australian Open.

“Yeah it's a little bit different [to facing Tsitsipas at the Australian Open], but for me the goal is still the same,” Kokkinakis said. “I haven't played in so long, so any match is a good chance to get out there for me to show and prove that I belong to get my ranking back and rebuild some confidence.”

That ranking and confidence have taken a battering in recent years. The Australian admitted he competed in $6 Kmart t-shirts at his home Grand Slam last month. It was the anecdote from his run there, which best captured his personality and his rotten run of luck.

Since surging to No. 69 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in June 2015, a litany of injuries derailed the Australian in every season since. It meant he no longer had a clothing sponsor and the road ahead became even bleaker, following the impact of the pandemic on the tour.

“It’s definitely tough, especially when you haven't had the last two years earning money,” Kokkinakis said. “It's even more so tricky maybe for myself and then my first year back on tour when everything is cut dramatically and it's a bit more of a grind.

“I'm trying to look at it in a way where everything I do now is trying to set myself up for next year, get those matches. Hopefully next year things are back to normal, prize money is back and it's a good chance to earn a living. I've been fortunate to have this opportunity to start playing again so I’m just trying to compete and stay healthy again.”

You May Also Like: Kokkinakis: 'Matches Like This Are Why I Keep Believing'
Currently ranked No. 243 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Kokkinakis did not play at all throughout 2020 and contested only four tour-level main draws in 2019. His frustrations were only compounded having claimed the biggest win of his career in Miami in 2018.

The Australian had stunned top seed Roger Federer in three sets at Key Biscayne in the second round. It was validation that his ability and hard work had aligned and his body had held up. And it’s still a match for which he is remembered.

“There was one old guy here who works at the tournament and he has a strong European accent and he keeps yelling ‘Kokkinakis’,” he said. “He was trying to tell me a lot of the fans [when I played Federer] hated him because he was one of the few cheering for me.

“I appreciate him. It's always good memories coming back to Miami. It's a little bit of a different venue, obviously. It's a bit different without the atmosphere and the crowd, but you’ve just got to make the most of it.”

Fellow qualifier, Japan’s #NextGenATP 17-year-old Shintaro Mochizuki, is Kokkinakis’ opening-round opponent. The 29th seed, Marton Fucsovics, awaits the winner.

Should Kokkinakis find a way past both to match his third-round run from three years ago, World No. 4 Andrey Rublev looms. The Russian, only 18 months the Australian’s junior, could empathise with Kokkinakis’ sentiments on the frustrations of a career being put on hold due to injuries as his peers forged on ahead.

“Mentally the toll it has where you see guys you feel like you should be up there with, where they've had the chances to play and compete, the last few years I haven’t [had those chances],” Kokkinakis said. “Every injury is a massive setback. It's just trying to build yourself up again and keep going and that sort of stuff takes a toll and a lot of people don't realise that unless they've been in that sort of position, so I'm fortunate to be playing again and try not to take it for granted.

“I'm kind of a veteran because I get how the tour works and I've been around for a while, but at the same time I haven't had anywhere near the tennis that people my age have had so I kind of feel like a bit of a youngster in that regard. It is a blessing and a curse.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/kokkina ... 21-preview

[Bombardiero]

[DUN I LOVE]

Pierwszy start Thanasiego w MD M-1000 od Monte Carlo 2018.

[Damian]