Thanasi Kokkinakis believes that there is nothing surprising in the fact that Novak Djokovic is receiving great support in Adelaide, as he believes that the Serb “will end up being the best ever” Kokkinakis, born in Adelaide, won his first ATP title at the Adelaide International 12 months ago.
Now, 26-year-old Kokkinakis is aiming to defend his title, but that’s easier said than done, as Adelaide’s squad boasts great players like Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Holger Rune.
Djokovic’s debut in Adelaide has aroused great interest, and the city seems very excited about the Serb’s participation in the tournament. Kokkinakis, who is an absolute favorite of Adelaide fans, admits he hopes it will be “the Djokovic show” at the Adelaide International.
“And rightly so. Stats and stuff, he’s probably going to be the best ever, at least in the short term. It’s no surprise he has some crazy fans. The Serbs love it and support it. He has massive support in Australia, with how well he’s done in Australia, at the Australian Open, but everywhere you look, there’s a Top 10 player playing a Top 10 player.
It’s almost like Medvedev is in the Top 10, but he’s not. It’s almost as if Medvedev is going under the radar, or Holger, who just won the Paris Masters, is going under the radar a bit. Felix had a great finish last year.
Djokovic got off to a good start
2022 was a year of high level for Marin Cilic. The Croatian returned to the fore based on great results and posh victories, including authentic displays, like the one he signed against Daniil Medvedev at Roland Garros.
But that is a closed chapter, a season that was very different from the current scenario. For example, at the beginning of that year Novak Djokovic was not in the big events, while there was still talk of a possible return of Roger Federer to the competition, although without clarified dates.
“Hats off to Novak, because he endured a huge emotional hardship in January of last year. Whatever happened was not fair to him, definitely not. As a sportsman, having to remember and go through all that is absolutely disastrous, it’s really difficult.
However, he has again shown that he has the amazing ability to stay focused, to stay focused mentally. He was able to win a Grand Slam after everything that happened, so my biggest congratulations. He managed to play a great level and finished the season in a fantastic way.
After the US Open, we met in Tel Aviv, but also in Kazakhstan and Bercy played at an incredible level. I wish him all the best for this new season.”
