25-year-old gun Aussie tennis player Thanasi Kokkinakis had just won his first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament in Adelaide. Kokkinakis, who is currently ranked 145 in the singles division defeated rank 58 Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech to claim the title.
Kokkinakis won after being a set down – eventually overcoming the odds as well as overcoming tennis’ dumb af scoring system to win 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.
It took 128 minutes of tennis before there was a break in service which made the game seriously tense. The Aussie eventually won the match with just the second service break for the entire game as per the ABC.
What makes the win even sweeter for us in the land down under is that Kokkinakis is a chill dude. He’s the type of guy your mum would say is a “lovely young man”. Because of this, he had no shortage of fans as he flattened the competition throughout the international tournament.
During his semi-final victory against rank 29 Croatian Marin Čilić, Kokkinakis received some online support from his countryman and doubles partner, Nick Kyrgios.
My brother gonna win the title 👑💕 https://t.co/CxrsxuoiPL
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 14, 2022
He’s also a bloody persistent human being which we love. TennisTV posted this tweet detailing the agonising road Kokkinakis took to his first ATP title.
I think I can say with a decent level of confidence that if most of us fractured our kneecaps and pulled our pectorals in successive years, we probably would’ve hung up our tennis shoes. But no, not our main man Thanasi..,
’15: Undergoes shoulder surgery
’16: Finishes year without ranking
’17: Ends season after US Open
’18: Suffers fractured kneecap
’19: Suffers pulled pectoral
’20: Does not compete all year
’21: Recovers fitness, wins Challenger title
’22: Wins first ATP title🙏 @TKokkinakis pic.twitter.com/CblypgDoPs
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 15, 2022
And as if winning your first ATP title on home soil wasn’t even – Kokkinakis even got a cheeky little congratulations message from none other than Roger Federer who is also the type of guy your mum would say is a “lovely young man” despite him being 40 years old (somehow).
Peep the screenshot below from Thanasi’s Instagram which you can check out here.
Thanasi Kokkinakis begins his Australian Open campaign tomorrow against rank 126 Yannick Hanfmann from Germany.
