The 2017 season may not even be over yet, but the Australian Open has announced a recipient of one of their wildcards for next year’s event.
The beneficiary of the decision is Thanasi Kokkinakis. The young Aussie barely played in 2016 after suffering a left shoulder injury that eventually required surgery. 2017 has seen the youngster try to make steps to retrieve his ranking of No.80 at the end of the 2015 season.
Despite some promising runs in 2017, including reaching the Los Cabos final, where he defeated Tomas Berdych before losing to Sam Querrey in the title match, Kokkinakis didn’t play too many events. Tough draws at Wimbledon and Roland Garros saw him take sets off both Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori.
Kokkinakis reaction to the decision: “It’s been tough missing the last two Australian Opens especially because it’s my favourite tournament and I was 17 when I played my first one.”
Despite missing the last two, Kokkinakis has some fond memories of matches at Melbourne Park. In 2015 he stunned then 11th seed Ernests Gulbis in a five-set thriller.
Kokkinakis also revealed that Davis Cup Captain Lleyton Hewitt called him personally to inform him of the good news.
Kokkinakis: “It’s been a pretty tough couple of years with my body, but I’ve been working hard to get it right. I’m really grateful to Tennis Australia for the Aussie Open wildcard and can’t wait to get back out there and compete in front of my friends and family.”
Tennis Australia’s Performance Director Wally Masur: “Thanasi is such a great young player with so much potential, and after a tough couple of years with injury, and after working hard to come back, we think this will be the perfect launching pad for 2018 that he deserves,”
