Thanasi Kokkinakis is back in the elite of the ATP circuit. The Australian needed a lot of dirty work to return to be part of the top 100, moving down to the Challenger circuit and winning a title in Bahrain that helped his cause. In this Indian Wells 2023, Thanasi needed the previous phase to enter the final draw, where he has already warmed up engines. After placidly passing his first round, his second stumbling block will be a guy whom he recognizes as one of the most attractive players today, neither more nor less than Carlos Alcaraz. A tall challenge for the Spaniard, who is facing someone who is full of confidence and who, as he warned in statements to the ATP, has left behind the disappointment suffered against Andy Murray at the last Australian Open.
Carlos Alcaraz, one of the players to follow
“It’s not just that he doesn’t have weaknesses in his game, it’s also that he plays with a lot of energy. He plays tennis the right way. He’s always enjoying himself, smiling. I think the crowd loves to see him play because his energy is practically contagious. He’s one of my favorite players on tour. Whenever I can and I have time I try to watch his matches. I really like his style of play. He has a lot of power, he’s lightning fast, he has a good hand. I realized it a couple of years ago , watching a video of his best moments. It is very difficult to eclipse everything that the legends of our sport have done in terms of the number of Grand Slams won, but I think he is perfectly capable of doing it and I think he will have his chance if he keep healthy.”
Of course, full confidence in his tennis and the level of play he is exhibiting
“I know what my game is, and I know that when I’m at my best it’s capable of beating a lot of players. I also know that the aspect where I suffer the most is consistency, so I hope I can match up with the best in the world this year.” , to have the opportunity to beat several of them and see how well I can do it, to see how far my tennis can go.”
The defeat against Murray in Australia, forgotten
“Despite the fact that it was a heartbreaking game and I had it in my hand on several occasions, however heartbroken I was after the game…I really enjoyed it quite a bit. I had a great time. It’s one of the there are few times when I can say I enjoyed a major loss, especially one where I was leading for practically the entire match.Tennis is such a results-based sport that it makes you angry if you don’t You win. Obviously I was, but I can look back at the level of tennis I was playing at and try to draw positive conclusions from all of that.”
A match that he used as gasoline for upcoming tournaments
“I’ve been through worse things than losing a tennis match that I was in a position to win. Of course it hurt a bit, but I got very positive feedback, a lot of people reached out to me. It’s not like I really wanted to talk. after that, but most of the comments were hopeful. This year, everyone who beat me is fucking good. I want to think that because of this, my tennis is in a good place. I just have to keep trying, keep paddling. You have to have a short-term memory in tennis. There’s always an opportunity pretty much every week, you can’t drown in what happened for a long time.”
