STARS AWAIT KYRGIOS, KOKKINAKIS IN MELB
NICK Kyrgios won’t have long to get up to speed at next week’s Australian Open after his Covid-19 diagnosis, with Daniil Medvedev a potential second-round opponent for him.
Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis will both start against qualifiers before likely meeting No.2 seed Medvedev and sixth seed Rafael Nadal in respective blockbuster match-ups.
In Kyrgios’ favour is he boasts a 2-0 head-to-head record over the Russian, who was a finalist at last year’s event, from their two meetings in 2019.
But there is still no certainty he will be at the start line as he races the clock to be fit.
The 26-year-old fell outside the top 100 on Monday for the first time in almost eight years, the same day he announced he tested positive for the coronavirus.
He subsequently withdrew from this week’s Sydney Tennis Classic, after also skipping last week’s Melbourne Summer Set because of asthma, which may have been connected to his later diagnosis.
Kyrgios is used to playing big matches at the
Australian Open, with memories of his extraordinary five-setter with 2020 runner-up Dominic Thiem in the third round last year still strong.
The Canberran achieved his equal-best grand slam result when he made the 2015 Australian Open quarter-finals, and he’s made the fourth round twice since and the third round two other times.
Kokkinakis has strung together two excellent weeks in his home city of Adelaide to reintroduce himself to the tennis world, but a Nadal clash would be a test of where he is at.
Australia’s No.1 men’s player, Alex de Minaur, who snagged the 32nd and final seed, will take on Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti first-up but could meet No.8 seed Casper Rudd in the round of 32.
Jordan Thompson will start against Steve Johnson; James Duckworth drew Adrian Mannarino; John Millman locks horns with Feliciano Lopez; and Alexei Popyrin begins with Arthur Rinderknech.
As for the rest of the wildcards, Aleks Vukic will face South African 30th seed Lloyd Harris. Chris O’Connell and Alex Bolt play Hugo Gaston and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, respectively.