After an injury-ravaged year, Thanasi Kokkinakis is looking forward to a brighter future and is relishing his return to the courts at the Brisbane International 2017 presented by Suncorp.
A succession of injuries limited Kokkinakis to just one competitive appearance in 2016, in the Olympic Games in Rio, but the rising star is slowly starting to regain full fitness and will make his long-awaited return to action when he teams up with fellow Australian Jordan Thompson in the men’s doubles at Queensland Tennis Centre.
Kokkinakis was the star attraction on Friday morning when he officially welcomed the Suncorp ball kids to the tournament, which starts on January 1, and while he freely admitted he was out of his depth trying to keep pace with the well-drilled youngsters, he was hoping to enjoy more success with a racket in his hand when he teams up with Thompson next week.
“I was never a ball kid, I’m not great at it – I don’t know how they do it,” he said. “They don’t bounce the ball at all, it just stays on the ground the whole time. They were ripping my technique a little bit, so I’d better improve on that. But it was a lot of fun, and all the players appreciate how hard the kids work so we’re very thankful.”
Indeed, Kokkinakis has a lot to be thankful for, having finally shaken off the shoulder, pectoral and thigh injuries which blighted his 2016 campaign.
While his fitness is still not quite sharp enough to compete in the singles in Brisbane, Kokkinakis is keen to test out his match sharpness in the doubles.
“It’s been a brutal year for me injury-wise,” he said. “It’s been one after the other but I’m really close to getting back to full health now, so I can’t wait to start. Brisbane is the perfect place, I love coming back here. For me, there’s no better 250 tournament in the world than Brisbane, so I’m really happy to be back.
“It should be fun in the doubles with Jordan. I played with him once in a Challenger event a few years ago, but it’s been a while so I’m looking forward to it. If it goes well in the doubles here, I’m going to try and start my singles in Sydney.
“I’ll just have to wait and see how the body pulls up. It’s not 100 per cent yet, but it’s getting really close now and it’s the best I’ve felt in a long time. So I’m going to Sydney and then I will see how I feel for the Aussie Open after that, but fingers crossed I’ll be good to go.”