Australian tennis dynamo Thanasi Kokkinakis says there have been times in his chaotic professional career when he’s looked at Nick Kyrgios with envy.
Kokkinakis broke through for his first ATP title victory in his home state on Saturday night, edging Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the final of the Adelaide International Two.
The emotion-charged comeback victory, which left the 25-year-old shouting in triumph and with tears streaming down his face, had overcome a horrid run with injuries and health, clinching a 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win on the cusp of the Australian Open.
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But the reality is that while Kyrgios has a career-high singles rank of 13 and has twice reached the quarter-final stage of a Grand Slam, Kokkinakis has never ranked higher than 69 and has advanced to the third round of a major just once.
That’s despite Kokkinakis having always had a much higher work ethic than the supremely talented Kyrgios.
“I’ve been sitting on the sidelines injured or what not and seeing him having good results. I’m happy for him, but at the same time we were right there with each other growing up in juniors, so … I’d rather be there playing deep into those events with him,” Kokkinakis, who’s a close mate of Kyrgios, tells Wide World of Sports.
“He’s a super-talented player, a great player, but I’ve still got a lot of my career left. So even though at times I’ve looked at his results and thought, ‘I wish that was me’ or ‘I want that to be me’, I still think I have the ability to have those results and turn things around.”
This year, Thirsty for a Good Story kicks off with Thanasi Kokkinakis looking back on a series of events during the 2018 Miami Open, where he beat Roger Federer. Watch Kokkinakis tell the full story on the Thirsty Camel Victoria Facebook page!
A career highlight saw Kokkinakis trump Swiss legend Roger Federer in the 2018 Miami Open, but his last six years have been plagued by shoulder, pectoral, abdominal, ankle and knee injuries, as well as glandular fever.
Kokkinakis said his envy of Kyrgios was at its sharpest when he defeated Spanish champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2014.
When Kyrgios downed the then world No.1 in four sets to progress to a quarter-final against Canada’s Milos Raonic, Kokkinakis had just lost in the first round of a second-tier Challenger event in Winnetla, a small town just north of Chicago.
“That one really got me,” Kokkinakis admits.
“I was definitely a little envious then because I was grinding away in some small country town and he had just beaten Nadal in the fourth round of Wimbledon … On one hand I was stoked for him but on the other I was definitely a little envious.”
Kokkinakis has a higher singles ranking than Kyrgios following his Adelaide International Two triumph, after Kokkinakis climbed to 103 and the Canberran slipped to 115.
Kokkinakis, who’ll begin his Australian Open campaign against German world No.126 Yannick Hanfmann this evening, has clear career goals in mind.
“Every day I’ve just got to be willing to do the right things and work and be mentally there to give myself every chance to have the success that I want,” Kokkinakis says.
“I’m trying to play these (ATP) tour events as much as possible and trying to get these big scalps.”
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