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Thanasi Kokkiankis goes down, but is proud of effort in Los Cabos

Thanasi Kokkinakis is out of the summer of tennis. (AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA)
Roar Guru
6th August, 2017
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Australian tennis ace Thanasi Kokkinakis put up a spirited effort against American Sam Querrey, however was slightly outclassed in all areas during the Los Cabos Open final.

The Australian lost the first set 6-3 before fighting his way through the second set, however when he dropped serve in the first game of the deciding set, it seemed unlikely that he would recover. He did have break points at 2-4, however the American stood up when it mattered and claimed his second title of the year.

Speaking after the match, Kokkinakis talked about his struggles in his two-year layoff and how close he came to quitting, and was clearly ecstatic with his week.

The Australian will now rise back up to about 220 in the ATP Rankings, and with no points to defend, looks likely to regain a position in the top 200. Should he maintain his run of good form, he could end up higher.

Kokkinakis has also put his hand firmly up for a Davis Cup position in Australia’s tie against Belgium next month. You can head over here for an in-depth analysis of the contenders.

Kokkinakis-French

(AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA)

Aussies John Millman, Alex De Minaur and John Peers (doubles) all competed in finals overnight and have each enjoyed an outstanding week.

Coming up this week in the ATP world tour is the Montreal Masters, which could see Rafael Nadal re-claim top spot in the ATP Rankings for the first time since 2014. Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori are the other headline acts vying for the title as US Open preparations get into full swing.

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Australia is also well represented. Jordan Thompson and Akira Santillan will face off in the first round, while Nick Kyrgios will play despite retiring and being in complete discomfort in a match last week against Tennys Sandgren. Matthew Ebden will also be looking to join them, and played in qualifying for a spot overnight.

Federer, who is playing in his first tournament since his Wimbledon triumph, will enter as the second seed due to the withdrawal of reigning US Open champion Stan Wawrinka.

The 32-year-old has been nursing knee niggles for many months now and will take the rest of 2017 off to try and ‘get it right’ for 2018. In positive news for his fans though, he is expected to be fit for the Australian summer and he also said he plans on playing for many more years and believes his body is capable of doing so.

In the more immediate future though, with Novak Djokovic and Wawrinka out for 2017 and Andy Murray out of form and unlikely to defend his many ranking points, it could see future prospects such as Alex Zverev and Dominic Thiem featuring prominently in the upcoming tournaments and going deep into the ATP finals.

That’s a wrap.

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