Former finalist Thanasi Kokkinakis returns to Los Cabos with a wild card
A former top-70 player and one of the most promising upcoming stars from the strong 1996 generation, Thanasi Kokkinakis has been struggling with injuries for years now, unable to play pain-free and show his full potential. The Adelaide native had played only three tournaments in the first six months of 2019, scoring only one main draw win before a promising return in Winnetka last week. Thanasi defeated Alejandro Gonzalez, Guido Andreozzi and Jason Jung to reach the semi-final, his best result since October last year, before skipping the clash against the fellow Aussie Jason Kubler. Kokkinakis has withdrawn from Binghamton as well and should be back on the court in Los Cabos, receiving a wild card for this ATP 250 event for the third year in a row. On his debut in 2017, Thanasi had reached the first ATP final with the ranking of 454, beating Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Tomas Berdych before losing to Sam Querrey in three sets.
A year ago, Taylor Fritz prevailed against him in two tie breaks and Thanasi is hoping to repeat the run from two years ago, chasing much-needed points and momentum that have been running away from him. Kokkinakis had to undergo a right shoulder surgery at the end of 2015, playing just one match in 2016 and missing all the action until May next year, struggling with an abdominal strain to make his comeback even harder. Following a slow return that spring, Kokkinakis advanced into the first ATP final in Los Cabos in August, hoping for more of the same by the end of the year. Nonetheless, things went from bad to worse for the young Aussie who had to skip all the action after the US Open, kicking off 2018 from outside the top-200.
Motivated to leave injuries and a dark period behind him, Kokkinakis defeated Roger Federer in Miami to become the lowest-ranked player who toppled the world no. 1 in 15 years and prove his full potential once again. There was no time to enjoy the massive win, though, suffering a knee injury in the opening set of Monte Carlo Masters against Karen Khachanov when he caught an advertising padding, missing all the events until Roland Garros. By the end of the season, Thanasi conquered Aptos and Las Vegas Challengers to gain some points and confidence, preparing for the start of 2019 where nothing has changed so far, struggling to stay injury-free and deliver his best tennis regularly.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2JO8Cqs
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