Thanasi Kokkinakis wants to make up for lost time

ABC listen podcasts radio news music and [Music] more Co get just his second US Open main draw win his first since 2019 and Goodness Me did he have to battle it's the kind of moment we thought we might have seen more often thanasi konakis beating a big name out of grand slam with a huge performance 28-year-old has been one of the most talented Australian tennis players of the last decade but his body hasn't always allowed him to reach his potential the South Australian is desperate to make up for lost time I'm Patrick stack this is ABC Sport [Music] Daily John milman is an ex ATP veteran he's played enormous match at the US Open himself he's also onethird of the excellent ABC tennis pod John Keen to talk about the NY cockus and his enormous win over the very talented 11th seed Stefanos sitp pass this was a match where the 86th ranked player he put it all together what impressed you most about what he managed here from a result standpoint yeah fantastic win first and for almost for thanasi we all know that thanasi has a big game you know set set up by his serve but also that that massive forehand that he has that'll do it as well for konakis Rocket off his forand this time I thought he handled the conditions really well US Open can be a little bit quicker and at times that can Rush that forehand Wing but he seemed to have a really good grasp of the Court conditions there and really took it to sit pass from the very start now sit pass US Open has not been a happy hunting ground for him nearly 4 hours out there but he gets the better of the number 11 seed stepan o pass who has another early exit in New York he has not got past the third round in his last seven attempts so I think there was uh blood in the air and and thanasi could smell it and he put it all together and the biggest problem for thanasi is is just making sure that he gets his body to recover and now make the most of what a draw that has really opened up it's the kind win that makes you wonder why we haven't seen this more of from from thanasi and I think you know you're someone who's been with him on tour over the years can you just spell out for us how much he's had to struggle physically but probably also emotionally um with the injury toll that has drag through his career yeah I think a couple of reasons like you touched on those injuries um have caused him a fair bit of grief especially that shoulder one that kind of put him out for for quite a long time so he really struggled to to kind of really keep that momentum going when he put into put together a good performance it felt like he was injured not long after I missed a lot of my career through the middle period so I'm just trying to make up for whatever I have left and just uh just keep hustling and see how we go but also Finas is the type of player that loves playing on the big stage and when you uh have to keep dropping back down to the Challenger tour or those lower level 8p to a matches you know the crowds aren't there the atmosphere is not quite there and he doesn't tend to play his best tennis so I think it's always been a bit of a battle not just with his body but also managing his emotions despite the level of tournament he's at because at the highest level in those biggest matches we've seen him produce some of his best tennis this is why you play to play in front of you guys on big stadiums in massive cities so yeah incredible feeling 28 years of age now and as you say the draw kind of opening up in front of him as a consequence of kind of taking that seated position of czp pass is there a sense that he can make up for lost time here do you think oh definitely and and not just that in his section there'll always be two seeds in the section so obviously he beat sit P pass but the other seed Lost first round against menik also and that was Felix oier Ali Aim so really there is a real big chance to kind of sneak through he won't play a seated player again until the round of 16 match which could be Daniel meddev he's got Nuno boures in his next match I think on the hard courts he's probably the favorite there Nuno boures is more of a clay caugh player and in his section let's not forget Tristan sko Kate who won his first 80P level match and he beat a very good friend of mine in Tarot Daniel in five sets so there's a couple of Aussies in that section and I think the nii has got to make the most of that draw and I think we could be seeing him in the round of 16 match lots of Aussie BLS doing well today including your other good friend Alex deor he needed four sets to get past Marcus Duron I just wonder whether that hip in that cut short his Wimbledon and indeed his Olympic singles campaign is that still a factor from what you're saying yeah I think so and if it's not affecting him physically there's no doubt in the back of his mind he'll be thinking about it so it would affect him mentally also but he did make reference to that in his postmatch press press conference saying that he's not quite 100% fit just yet and trust me it doesn't get any easier as the tournament progresses because these are physically challenging matches of five set tennis for the men's and to get through two weeks of that it can take a massive toll on the body he was out on court for three and a half hours today against giron so he'll have to try to get his body right to recover well we know how important his movement is he's one of the best Movers On Tour and obviously having that hip slash groin injury can really hinder and affect that Jordan Thompson was just outside the seated players for this slam ranked 33 but he is playing like a seed he belted his first round opponent I think he lost just six games over three sets what can you put his Rich vein of form down to John look he's always looked after his body really well and he's been fit which I think is a massive thing but I have to give credit to his coach also Moreno matovich we know Moreno he was a top 40 player when he played now he looks after Chris o Connell and Jordan Thompson and it's really coincided with both their rankings uh improving I think Moreno's got Jordan playing a more aggressive brand of tennis he's taking more risks on and he's really taking it to his opponents and because he's got a really nice serve and he's got good feel around the net I think that's the style of tennis that he's adopted that Moreno's had him adopting that has proven to be you know a really successful thing for him Jordan used to be quite conservative by nature but there's no doubt he's elevated that risk profile and it's paying off he's having a career best year this is a guy who's just gotten into his 30s and he's at a career high ranking now and like you said he's playing like a seed he's had some huge wins this year he's beaten guys in the top 10 this year so he'll be hoping to extend this US Open and there's no doubt he can't do it on the the hardcourts which we know he's so comfortable on maybe one of the more feel-good emotional stories of the day was a loser in world number 188 Australian ladu who gave Carlos alarz no no less an absolute fright the world number three really struggling through a tournament opener and eventually getting it done in four sets but can you just give us your experiences and what you know about the unheralded south Australian well first first of all when he saw that draw after getting through qualifying he he wouldn't have loved it so we're just having dinner no worries and then I got a text message on Instagram and a fan actually messaged me saying um you're playing Carlos alarz and I was like no way and then I showed the message to everyone around the table everyone gets their phone out everyone knives and forks down and yeah and that's and that's how I found out and then we saw the drawer and it was like Carlos Lee and I was like okay this is happening it really looked like it was a matter of him having played those three qualifying matches being really used to the conditions he looked really comfortable out there in those conditions which is no easy fit because you got to remember he was playing on Arthur Ash which is the biggest stadium that we have in men's and women's tennis but alarz on the flip side looked as if it was his first match he started off pretty slow I thought uh there was some uncharacteristic unforced errors another second serve he set two double faults in this court so far this game with the pressure from the Aussie and there go three has not figured out what he should do Mo to the forehead he also didn't play the big points all that well so we really couldn't put Lee 2 away earlier in the match but Lee 2's had a fantastic career he was actually a very good Junior and then he took a break from tennis for a few years he's made his way back into the sport in the last couple of years really flown up the rankings he's inside that top 200 and he's made his debut into the main draw of the US Open and what a great experience to really take it to one of the best players in tennis right now in Carlos alres it was a fantastic match he's so fun to watch because he looks to get forward he's got great feel around the net and it was a real surprise package for Carlos out there today but the Spaniard proved to be too good in the end Sue's also spoken I guess about the impact of his mothers passing in recent years and how he often draws on that for inspiration it's quite a wonderful emotive story as well in its own way don't you think John yeah it's fantastic and he's a really good person obviously was Bor up fantastic from his mother and father he was super close to her and he really plays with his heart on the sleeve mom you're home now I've been saying it all week every time I look up at the sky I see your face you're making sure the beds in heaven are being are made that the fridge and pantry is full of our favorite snacks and that there is enough sunscreen up there but remember when he broke through and W a big Challenger title in Korea and he broke down at the end of it because it wasn't too long after his mother's passing and you could see how much he plays with her on the court so no fantastic to see him doing really well it's really unfortunate that he got that draw because I think he could have beaten a lot of players the way he played today I watched the whole match and I was enthralled by it one of the challenging things when you're playing against one of these top top players is being able to keep that level throughout the best of five set match and you could just see his level just dropped ever so slightly in the fourth and that's where alcarez got the edge and ran away with it in the women's draw all three Australian ladies in action sadly lost the headline had to be darus savl probably the most experienced of the trio what went wrong for for darha today well first of all she has made mention that since Wimbledon she's been struggling with plan of fasciitis so that's in the foot and that really affects your movement and dash is actually a great mover around the court like Alex deor You Can Tell She's low on confidence she hasn't W many matches since Wimbledon and it shows it shows when you put yourself in a position to win she was up a break in the third set when you put yourself in a position to win when you're lacking that confidence when you're you're lacking the confidence not just in your game but also in your body when the going gets tough and that pressure starts building um those cracks can appear and that's what it looked like today really sad to hear her postmatch press conference she talked about how she wanted to get to the Asian swing but she's just questioning whether it's all worth it maybe she just hits the reset button and hopefully we'll see her having a big Australian summer there's still plenty of Aussies in action in New York John milman thanks for unpacking a huge day for Australian tennis at the US Open no problem headlines W art has claimed stage 10 but Australian Ben Iona continues to wear the red jersey for the leader of the tour of Spain he's now held the honor for five stages more than any other Australian before him he holds a near 4minute advantage over the next best Rider in Primo rug AFL Matthew o will miss Carlton's du or die final against Brisbane the Navy blu's dangerous tackle ban was upheld meanwhile West Coast Premiership Defender Tom barass has requested a trade to Hawthorne in the rugby league sack Bunny's coach Jason Demetrio has landed his newest gig taking the reigns with the PNG National side in the F1 the knives are out midseason driver Logan sergeant has been dropped from Williams Racing he will be replaced by 21-year-old Argentinian F2 driver Franco kapino the news comes after sergeant crashed a freshly upgraded car at the Dutch GP I'm Patrick stack this is ABC Sport Daily produced by poppy Penny thanks to stand Sport and LSU's Instagram for the extra audio used in this episode discover more great 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