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Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis continues his return to tennis in the first round at Wimbledon when he faces Argentinian 29th seed Juan Martin Del Potro. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 8:30pm (AEST).
Kokkinakis has battled with injuries over the last couple of years, barely playing a match. In fact, his only time on court in 2016 was at the Olympic Games where he bombed out in the first round.
He finally made a return to the circuit before the French Open, where he lost to Kei Nishikori in the first round.
The Aussie, who is holding a rank just inside the top 500 but qualifies for the slams based on a protected ranking, has played two tournaments since Roland Garros, winning a match at each.
The second tournament at the AEGON Champions saw him upset Canadian Milos Raonic, who made the final of Wimbledon last year, and shows he is in reasonable form despite a lack of court time in the last 18 months.
It must be taken with a grain of salt though. Five sets is a completely different beast to three, especially against a player of the quality of Del Potro.
The Argentinian hasn’t been without his own injury problems over the years, dropping away after taking the US Open in 2009 with successive wrist injuries.
Delpo, as he is affectionately known, has an ability to play every surface like his best and treat every point with the same level of intensity.
He has had a low-key build-up to Wimbledon though, taking a month off after a third-round exit at the French Open, where he lost to Andy Murray.
The key to this match will be pushing Kokkinakis around the court, using his consistent groundstroke game to get on top and dominate.
He comes into the biggest grand slam of the year as the 29th seed, but he has been to the peak of tennis, and knows what it takes to get back there.
Kokkinakis will need to use every bit of his serve to get over the line in this one. He must hold with ease every time, shorten the points and get on top using a power game predominantly, but also mix things up.
The pair have never met before this match.
Prediction
Kokkinakis will feel absolutely no pressure in this one, and it should allow him to open up and play his natural game.
Unfortunately, Del Potro is a class above and despite not playing a match on grass, it would be more than a minor shock to see him bundled out of the tournament.
Del Potro in four sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this first round match from 8:30pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment below.