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Thanasi Kokkinakis wins first match since 2015

Thanasi Kokkinakis is out of the summer of tennis. (AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA)
13th June, 2017
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It’s been a long road back from injury but Thanasi Kokkinakis has claimed his first ATP Tour win since August 2015.

The 21-year-old Australian, who missed the back end of 2015 and all of 2016 with shoulder and abdominal injuries, beat Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 7-5 in the first round at Rosmalen.

It was just his third match of 2017 and a strange one too, with both players struggling to hold serve.

They traded breaks in both sets before Kokkinakis ultimately prevailed to set up a meeting with fellow 21-year-old Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the second round.

Kokkinakis said he felt nervous while trying to put former world No.8 Youzhny away, after so long without a singles win.

“It was very tough (to close it out),” Kokkinakis said.

“I didn’t get off to a great start, but then came back and played pretty well.

“I was up 6-4 4-2 and serving really well, but I knew it was going to be tough to keep serving that well the whole match.

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“He really started playing a lot better at the back end of the second set. I got a bit tighter for sure. I hadn’t served out a match in a long time. It was good to get those nerves out the way.”

While he got the breakthrough win over Youzhny, Kokkinakis said he is still dealing with getting his body right as Wimbledon approaches.

“It feels great to be competing again, there’s only so long you can practise for. It’s so frustrating being on the practice court for ages,” he said.

“Physically I’m not 100 per cent, still got some things I need to sort out with my body. I’m trying to manage it while I’m playing. That’s the tough part.. I’m trying to get the matches in and that workload into my body.”

The win follows on from the good signs Kokkinakis showed at the French Open, where he took the opening set of his first round match against eventual quarter-finalist Kei Nishikori, before falling in four sets.

Medvedev beat sixth-seeded Dutchman Robin Haase in three tight sets 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3, while fifth-seed Steve Darcis was also punted from the tournament, losing 6-2 7-6 (7-3) to Ukrainian veteran Alexandr Dolgopolov.

While it was a day to celebrate for Kokkinakis it wasn’t so for his Australian compatriot Jordan Thompson, who was hammered 6-4 6-1 by Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

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