Injury Heartache Propels Thanassi Kokkinakis To 'Huge' Win At Queen’s - UBITENNIS
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Injury Heartache Propels Thanassi Kokkinakis To ‘Huge’ Win At Queen’s

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LONDON: In only his fourth competitive tournament of the year, injury-stricken Thanassi Kokkinakis has grabbed a fairytale 7-6(5), 7-6(8) win over third seed Milos Raonic at the Aegon Championships.

 

The two-hour tussle saw opportunities come and go for both players. Raonic, last year’s runner-up at the tournament, failed to convert a total of eight break points during the opening set. Meanwhile, Kokkinakis was unable to work his way to a single opportunity. Nevertheless, the Australian managed to grab the crucial lead in the tiebreaker to close it out 7-5.

Cheer on by team mate Nick Kyrgios in the crowd, Kokkinakis’ determination was flawless. Fighting hard for every point, he matched the world No.6 game-by-game. Besides the 692-place gap between the two in the world rankings, it was hard to separate them on the court. Raonic has the greater experience and longer period of health, but Kokkinakis had the desire and it was desire the elevated him to the straight sets triumph.

“It’s huge. Best win of my career. And to do it so soon after coming back on such a long layoff is a huge confidence booster for me.” Said Kokkinakis.
“I have been practicing pretty good, and then come out on the court and I’m nervous as anything. My first few forehands, hit the back fence, I’m, like, ‘Jeez this is bad again.’ Luckily my serve helped me in it, and then I won the big points when it mattered, so it’s huge.”

Tuesday’s achievement comes after what has been a brutal 18-month period for Kokkinakis. Initially, it was a shoulder injury that halted his progression on the tour. During the one-and-a-half year struggle he also nursed issues with his abdomen, Groin, external oblique and elbow. At one point it all got too much for the Australian, who contemplated quitting the sport earlier this year.

“I was just like breaking racquets every day in practice and that’s not me. I was just hating it. Winning and playing well in practice was good, but then I wasn’t translating. I just didn’t feel that confident. I felt like some of those issues I was having a long time were still there, and I just wasn’t feeling great with my game.” He reflected about his previous difficulties.

Choosing to not give up, Kokkinakis has credited his resurgence to the support of his team. The most notable being Todd Langman, a coach he has seeked guidance from since the age of 9. Seconds after defeating Raonic, the Australian was seen lifting his hands in celebration. A moment he described as the ‘happiest he has ever felt’ after a three-set match.

Raonic leads the praise

Reflecting upon his loss, a down to earth Raonic was unsurprised by his opponents triumph. He is the highest ranked player to lose to the Australian on the ATP Tour at sixth in the world. The loss is a blow to the Canadian, who recently appointed doubles specialist Mark Knowles to guide him throughout the grass-court season this year.

“I practiced with him I guess before Istanbul, so shortly after Monte-Carlo. And to be frank, I was actually surprised when I saw his results that he wasn’t doing better, because he was hitting the ball well.” Raonic said about Kokkinakis.
“I knew he was still struggling a little bit playing consecutively with his arm, but he was hitting the ball extremely well at that point. I followed his draws over the last week, so no, I’m not surprised by his level by any means.”

Raonic’s high praise for the 21-year-old comes as he reflects upon his missed chance. Speaking about the nine break points he failed to convert, the Canadian admitted he ‘wasn’t efficient’ in the match and lacked discipline.

It is too early to tell if this win will elevate Kokkinakis back to the top more swiftly after his recent misfortunes. A two-time junior grand slam finalist, he has been ranked as high as 69th in the world prior to injury. Once a tennis prodigy, Raonic is dampening down the Kokkinakis hype with a realistic outlook. When questioned about if the Australian could potentially crack the top ten one day, the third seed provided a grounded response.

“The question of top 10 doesn’t depend on one guy. It depends possibly on 10 guys ahead of you or more.” Raonic explained. “Also depends on who else is there at that moment and what other players have to say. That’s not only dependent on the individual himself.”

Kokkinakis will play Nicolas Mahut or Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

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Alexander Zverev Deserves More Respect According To Boris Becker

According to Boris Becker, Alexander Zverev deserves more respect from tennis journalists.

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Alexander Zverev (@WeAreTennis - Twitter)

Boris Becker has claimed that Alexander Zverev deserves more respect despite Zverev failing to live up to his potential at Grand Slams.

 

Zverev has only reached one Grand Slam final in his career despite being a regular inside the world’s top ten as well as performing at regular ATP events.

This season Zverev played a limited schedule after recovering from an ankle injury but still managed to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

However most critics have been loud when judging Zverev’s career as it was looking likely that he would be a regular Grand Slam champion.

The German has failed to live up to expectations but former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker believes Zverev deserves more respect.

Speaking to Eurosport Becker also said that Zverev’s father being the coach is a more than successful approach when it comes to the former US Open finalist’s career, “In my opinion, he doesn’t get enough respect from the tennis experts internationally,” Becker explained.

“They’re all talking about the young three or four, but don’t give Zverev, Medvedev or Rublev enough respect. He’s playing with his fist in his pocket a little bit, wants everyone show that he is not a thing of the past, but that his best time is yet to come.

“Surely his father knows best what is good for his son, but if you look into the box at the competition, you can also see changes.”

Becker has followed Zverev for most of his career so knows that the best is yet to come from the German.

Alexander Zverev will look to prove himself next season when he starts his 2024 season when he represents Germany at the United Cup.

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Juan Carlos Ferrero Analyses Key Areas For Carlos Alcaraz’s Development

Juan Carlos Ferrero has outlined the next steps in Carlos Alcaraz’s development.

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(@tennisnewsbrazil - Twitter)

Carlos Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero has analysed the key areas for the Spaniard’s development heading into the 2024 season.

 

The former world number one’s season has come to an end after a successful year which saw him win the Wimbledon title as well as winning two Masters 1000 titles.

Alcaraz capped off an incredible season by reaching the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

However there is a long way for the Spaniard to go if he wants to consistently go toe-to-toe with Novak Djokovic.

Speaking to Marca Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero spoke about the Spaniard’s development and said that Alcaraz is too emotional, “Be more regular in games, not open doors. Sometimes there are mistakes and it is something that we have to improve a lot,” Ferrero commented.

“Although it is true that he opens doors, he always competes well and at the highest level. He knows it, the other day he already said that Novak doesn’t give you one. He has to improve his decision making and he will achieve that with experience. Carlos is very emotional and that sometimes helps him and other times not so much.”

It’s clear Alcaraz’s high-quality is there but to consistently do it against Djokovic is another task altogether as the Spaniard looks to go from strength-to strength next season.

One area that is clearly a priority for Alcaraz is physical conditioning especially considering what happened against Djokovic at Roland Garros earlier in the season.

Ferrero said that will be a clear focus heading into 2024 but couldn’t guarantee that Alcaraz will play a tournament before the Australian Open, “Because of the year and the fatigue he has been in, what he needs is rest and disconnecting for 8-10 days with his friends,” Ferrero stated.

“From there, the thinking must go back to working really hard, strong and well to start very strongly in Australia. One can never be sure of that. Sometimes you play a tournament and it doesn’t go well, you left home too early. There are many ways of thinking.

“This year we haven’t played Australia and he finishes number two. That means there is no urgency to play a tournament early. Carlos is a player who enters competition quickly, you don’t usually see him without rhythm.

“Although it is true that he becomes more dangerous from the round of 16, from the quarter-finals. I am confident that the two exhibition matches and the training sessions will help us play a good tournament.”

Alcaraz will be looking to play the Australian Open which starts on the 15th of January after the Spaniard missed last year’s tournament due to a leg injury.

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Australian Open Chief Confident Nadal Will Play But Kyrgios’ Participation Uncertain

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Nadal RG 2022 by Night (foto @RolandGarros)

The tournament director of the Australian Open says he is ‘certain’ that Rafael Nadal will play at the Grand Slam even though the Spaniard has yet to outline his comeback plans. 

 

Craig Tiley told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday he hopes to receive some clarity over Nadal’s intentions in the next couple of weeks but is confident he will play. However, the tennis official had previously claimed in October that the former world No.1 had already committed to play in the event before his team denied that statement.  

Nadal, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, hasn’t played a Tour match since his second round defeat at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury. He was originally expecting to take an eight-week break but the recovery didn’t go to plan and he ended up having surgery. In May he confirmed that he will take an extended break from the sport to heal his body and admitted that retirement next year is a possibility.

“Rafa has been training, I follow him closely, probably every day because he’s a massive drawcard for us,” the Reuters News Agency quoted Tiley as saying. 
“He wants to play, he’s obviously planning on playing. It all depends on how he pulls up.
“Hopefully in the next week or the next two weeks, we get some specific confirmation of that. I’m certain Rafa will be here because he’s not going to want to miss the opportunity to repeat what he did a couple of years ago.”

Earlier this month Nadal confirmed that he intends to return to the Tour but admits that he will continue to experience a degree of pain. Although he has yet to give any information about which tournament he will begin his comeback at. The 2024 season begins during the first week of January.

“I’m well, training, and happy. I’m at a good stage of my life,” atptour.com quoted Nadal as telling reporters in Barcelona.
“Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good.’

Will Kyrgios play?

Another player Tiley is eager to welcome back is home player and former Wimbledon Finalist Nick Kyrgios who has only played one Tour-level match this season due to injury. He underwent knee surgery in January and then tore a ligament in his wrist during the summer. As a result, the Australian currently doesn’t have an ATP ranking due to his inactivity. 

“We have spoken to Nick, and he obviously wants to do the best he possibly can to give him the best chance to play in January,” Tiley said of Kyrgios.
“Whether he’s playing, whether he’s doing something else, Nick will be here in January and to get him to play will be great. But we’ve got to take it as it comes and he’s got to make sure he takes care of his health …” 

Kyrgios recently worked as an analyst for the Tennis Channel during this year’s ATP Finals in Turin and gave a brief update on his ongoing recovery during a segment. 

“After last year, I had such a great year, and I’m so hungry to get back out there,” the 2022 Wimbledon finalist commented.
“So I’m doing everything I can to get back out there. Obviously, you know how injuries are every day, just doing the rehab, doing the gym work.”

The Australian Open will begin on Sunday 14th January. Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka are the defending champions. 

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