Three weeks will be an eternity in professional tennis.
Thanasi Kokkinakis might have been Australia’s star activate the clay of Roland Garros however now Australia’s Paris stand-out faces a uncommon previous battle simply to make it to the primary draw of Wimbledon.
At the top of May, the ‘Special Ok’ gained one of the crucial dramatic matches on the French Open, downing former winner Stan Wawrinka in an epic five-setter, earlier than occurring to lose an exhilarating four-set affair with Karen Khachanov within the third spherical a few days later.
After all that manic pleasure in entrance of noisy full-houses on Court Simonne Mathieu, Kokkinakis shall be again all the way down to earth within the sleepier surrounds of Roehampton, a few miles from Wimbledon, enjoying a first-round qualifier in a bid to make it into the primary draw at a seventh straight grand slam.
Kokkinakis was left annoyed he hadn’t fairly achieved sufficient earlier in the summertime to mechanically qualify for Wimbledon and he now has to enter the minefield of qualifying, having to win three matches to make the massive present.
Seeded second in qualifying, regardless of having misplaced his solely grass-court match since Paris at Nottingham, the world No.88 shall be one of many favourites to get to the All England Club once more, having gained his first main-draw match there final yr.
First up on Monday, he’ll face a 21-year-old Swiss, Leandro Riedi, ranked 165 on the planet.
Kokkinakis shall be considered one of 5 Australian males in motion on the opening day, with at the least one assured to make it into the second spherical of qualifiers with Sydney’s ninth seed Rinky Hijikata having been somewhat sadly drawn towards Adelaide’s Alex Bolt.
Melbourne’s Marc Polmans, who reached the second spherical two years in the past, faces Italian nineteenth seed Andrea Vavassori, whereas Sydney’s No.7 seed James Duckworth will sort out British wildcard Stuart Parker.
The depth of competitors in qualifying will be gauged by gamers of the standard of former top-tenners David Goffin and former quarter-finalist Lucas Pouille being in motion at Roehampton.
One of the game’s rising stars, 18-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils, who’s No.63 on the planet after profitable his maiden tour-level title in Lyon, will compete too.
The draw for the ladies’s qualifying shall be introduced on Monday.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
