Thanasi Kokkinakis raising its level in the month of January, a film that has returned to our screens for one more season. The Australian does not fail, it is to arrive on the first tour of the calendar and his tennis is revolutionized, he becomes that potential top30 that later ends up diluting with the passing of the tournaments. But in the Adelaide 2 ATP 250, where he was already champion in 2022, nobody has managed to stop him. This morning, after knocking out an entire top10 with Andrey Rublev, the current #110 in the rankings assessed his form and explained why it is so hard for him to be consistent over a full season.
Victory against Rublev
“I knew I had to get my game out there because he’s a great player, as well as a great guy. Some people don’t know him that well, or don’t know how he is off the court, but Andrey is a great person, we are pretty close friends and I have a lot of respect for him because of the way he plays. Today again before the local fans I have seen myself at a great level of tennis, I already saw myself like this last week, but I lost to a great player. I am happy to be able to stay in shape and to have taken another good victory”.
Ranking your best wins
“Every time you manage to beat the best it is a great achievement, but it is clear that beating Federer means a little more. At the level of which I am capable of this, but I am disappointed in myself when I do not manage to be as consistent as I would like. That is my goal this year, to play better and better and keep trying.”
His great handicap
“Many times it happens to me that I get distracted during the tour, I find it very difficult to concentrate week after week, that’s the difference with the best. If I can get a little bit of that level of concentration and intensity for longer periods of time, I think my ranking can climb many positions”.
nothing like playing at home
“The crowd is great, I feel at home on this court. I played some really good tennis, I’ve been feeling really good on the ball since the beginning of the week, I’m happy with the way I’m hitting, I also like to see how people are happy when I hit my shots. I want to stay focused and stay in each moment, without getting too excited about the audience. People can’t help you if you’re blowing shots by being more concerned with them than the game, so I don’t want to get too excited. Against any player, if you take your foot off the gas, it can come back to bite you.”
It all starts with your service
“It’s a super important factor, but I have to keep building with the other parts of my game if I want to become a complete tennis player. When I hit my first serve, as I’ve been looking for tonight, I know it’s a shot that gives me a lot of free points. Hopefully it gives me a chance to put some pressure on the scoreboard, take cuts with the rest, and play some good points off the return. The first serve is my spine, I feel that I can do very good things with that shot.
