Testing times for Thanasi

THANASI Kokkinakis had the Novak Djokovic experience in Miami last year.

Unbeknown to the Australian tennis player, his visa was accidentally cancelled via Washington and he spent about four hours detained in an airport backroom while it was sorted out.

A few months later, while trying to head to Mexico after Wimbledon, Kokkinakis was delayed by 24 hours when he didn’t have the required PDF copy of a negative PCR Covid-19 test.

Trekking the globe on the tennis tour isn’t as glamorous as it seems, especially when – as in Kokkinakis’ case – you’re forced to play off Broadway, in front of a man and his dog, to rebuild your ranking. It’s unrecognisable from his extraordinary first fortnight of this year. In the comforts of home at Adelaide, in front of an adoring crowd, Kokkinakis rounded out his Australian Open preparations with a maiden ATP singles title, after reaching a semi-final the week before.

Rafael Nadal might be waiting for him in a round two blockbuster next week.

“It’s a bit of a s...show, travelling,” Kokkinakis told News Corp. “I don’t think I’ve had (the Djokovic detention) for as many days, but I did have it for a few hours in the backroom. It was just annoying, and travelling can be really difficult. If that was my life for the next 10 years, I’d probably just pack up shop – it wasn’t much fun.”

Kokkinakis is again the talk of Australian tennis, a throwback to his introduction to the world as a teenage hotshot eight years ago.

Roger Federer, Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios were among the big stars to congratulate him and revel in his breakthrough Adelaide win.