Thanasi Kokkinakis shook his head, smirked and was unable to offer an answer.

The much-hyped ‘other Special K’ – an hour separated from Tuesday’s five-set triumph over accomplished Austrian Sebastian Ofner – was outlining his motivation struggles away from Australia. He then added he felt he didn’t try his best in Brisbane, either.

Motivation struggles: Thanasi Kokkinakis.Credit: Eddie Jim

The difference between him and the tour pacesetters, Kokkinakis said, was they applied themselves better and more often because he found the tennis season too long and gruelling.

So how are you going to fix this, Thanasi?

“No idea. I’m 27 now, and I wish I would have figured it out by now,” he said.

The Kokkinakis story is well told. He was one of those teenage prodigies, and famously faced off with Nick Kyrgios in the Australian Open boys’ singles final in 2013.

Kokkinakis, a year younger than Kyrgios, later spoke of his envy at his close friend’s Wimbledon stunner the next year over Rafael Nadal, coinciding with him losing in the first round of a secondary Challenger event in a small US town.

All these years later, Kokkinakis never caught up to the man he won the 2022 Australian Open doubles title with.

QOSHE - The familiar roadblock facing Thanasi Kokkinakis - Marc Mcgowan
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The familiar roadblock facing Thanasi Kokkinakis

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18.01.2024

Thanasi Kokkinakis shook his head, smirked and was unable to offer an answer.

The much-hyped ‘other Special K’ – an hour separated from Tuesday’s five-set triumph over accomplished Austrian Sebastian Ofner – was outlining his motivation struggles away from Australia. He then added he felt he didn’t........

© The Sydney Morning Herald


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