When Thanasi Kokkinakis steps onto centre court at The Drive this evening, any nerves will almost certainly be outweighed by the memories of a glorious period in the same setting last year.
Competing before a growing band of excited supporters, the South Australian local warmed up with a semifinal showing in the first ATP 250 tournament in Adelaide, where his victims included No.4 seed Frances Tiafoe.
It provided a perfect springboard for Kokkinakis’ most momentous career breakthrough as he stunned a string of higher-ranked opponents – including John Isner and Marin Cilic – to claim his first ATP singles title in the Adelaide International 2 tournament the following week.
“Obviously it was my greatest week on tour and an incredible moment,” Kokkinakis told reporters on Sunday in Adelaide. “I wouldn’t change it any other way.”
Kokkinakis, who finished 2022 at world No.93 after starting the season at 171, will aim to recreate that form when he launches his Adelaide International 1 campaign tonight.
The 26-year-old, a wildcard at the ATP 250 tournament, faces Maxime Cressy in the second night match on centre court. The French-born American peaked at world No.31 last August as he maximised his throwback serve-and-volley style.
“It’s going to be tricky. Both of us serve well, and he makes it tough for the opponent. I can’t get into too much rhythm,” said Kokkinakis of Cressy, having claimed one match and lost the other in their two previous meetings.
“He kind of comes in and blankets the net really well … hopefully there’s not going to be a lot of points in it, just going to try win the important ones, try and be sharp on return and take care of my serve and see what happens.”
Should Kokkinakis progress over Cressy, the path becomes significantly more challenging for the local star. His next opponent would be either No.6 seed Jannik Sinner or Brit Kyle Edmund. Novak Djokovic, Felix Auger-Aliasssime, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune are among the nine top-20 men competing in Adelaide this week.
“You want to test yourself against the best,” Kokkinakis reasoned, noting the excitement generated by those high-profile names.
“Everywhere you look there’s a top-10 guy hitting with a top-10 guy. It’s almost like Medvedev is flying under the radar; Holger, who just won Paris Masters, is flying a bit under the radar; Felix, who had a massive back end of last year.”
It’s a trend that’s also evident in the WTA 500 tournament, which sees Wimbledon 2022 ladies’ champion Elena Rybakina begin her campaign tonight. The world No.21 from Kazakhstan faces Australian Open 2022 finalist Danielle Collins in the first night session match.
Rybakina started her career-best season as runner-up to then-No.1 Ash Barty in the Adelaide International 1 event. “I’m super happy to be back in Adelaide,” said the 23-year-old, who lost in straight sets to Collins in the one previous match they’ve played.
“For sure it’s going to be not an easy match, really tough opening for the first round,” said Rybakina. “I’ll just try to do my best and see how it’s going to go.”