It has been pretty evident in the recent events that Thanasi Kokkinakis and Adelaide equals magic. The Australian created fresh memories on his home court on Monday night when he defeated fellow countryman Alexei Popyrin in the Adelaide International‘s opening round after two hours and 45 minutes of play, one year after winning his maiden ATP Tour championship there.
“Itโs what you play for to be honest. Iโve had many great memories last year as well. Having that home energy and home crowd was crazy. Iโm happy I gave them something to cheer about there. It was almost going too smoothly, but then when I got the crowd into it and got them fired up, I know thatโs what they came to see. Itโs why you do all the work in all those tough moments. You remember those feelings and thatโs something you canโt replicate other than [in] tennis.”
KOKKINAKIS SAID.
Kokkinakis appeared to be facing defeat after going behind by a break in the third set. To the joy of the crowd, the 26-year-old rallied for an emotional triumph. When Kokkinakis faces No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and top seed Andrey Rublev in the second round, it won’t get any simpler.
“Itโs going to be tough. He hits the [heck] out of the ball. I practised with him two days ago and itโs not easy. We played well, it was a good set. But itโs tricky. Heโs a hell of a player. Itโs not going to be easy, but Iโm going to take my game and get after it. Itโs going to be a tough match.”
KOKKINAKIS ADDED.
Additionally, Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina defeated Brandon Nakashima, the current Next Gen ATP Finals winner, 6-2, 7-6. (3). Jack Draper, a British competitor who also played in Milan last year, defeated Italian Lorenzo Sonego by scores of 6-4 and 6-2. To earn his first victory of the year, the lefty turned away three of the four break points he faced.
Three years ago, at the Australian Open, American Mackenzie McDonald allowed Daniel Evans to come back from a two-set deficit. By defeating the Briton 7-5, 7-5 on Monday, McDonald gained some measure of vengeance.
Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia advanced to the second round by defeating Kyle Edmund of Great Britain 6-4, 7-5. Also Read: Emma Raducanu aims to play more tennis and avoid injuries by 2024
Djokovic Conquers Adelaide
On Sunday, top seed Novak Djokovic defeated Sebastian Korda by holding off a match point to win the Adelaide International and solidify his position as a strong favourite to win the Australian Open. The son of former world number two Petr Korda, an unseeded American opponent, was defeated by the 21-time Grand Slam winner in more over three hours, 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4. Djokovic won the match, extending his winning streak in Australia to 34 games.
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