Winning back-to-back Adelaide International titles, not his preparation for the Australian Open, was on the forefront of Thanasi Kokkinakis’ thoughts after his gorgeous win over world No.6 Andrey Rublev on Wednesday evening.
The hometown hero may have received 5 matches in six days if he’s holding up the champion’s trophy at Memorial Drive on Saturday evening, with the Australian Open kicking off the next Monday.
That may not look like the very best bodily lead-in to his dwelling grand slam, however Kokkinakis believes successful in entrance of his household and buddies is the very best type of preparation.
“I‘m not taking these matches for granted on home soil in Adelaide,” Kokkinakis mentioned.
“Obviously, you‘d love to have some preparation going into the Aussie Open, a few days’ rest and to time it out (better).
“But I’ll take these wins every day of the week, beating quality players, playing at that level.
“I don‘t know how many Adelaide Internationals there are going to be, so I’m trying to take in every moment.
“I love playing here … I’ll worry about next week when it comes to it and just keep trying to get through my matches this week.”
Kokkinakis misplaced in straight units to German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann within the first spherical of final 12 months’s Australian Open after claiming his maiden ATP title in Adelaide.
He mentioned titles may come extra typically if he obtained to play at dwelling extra the place he feels embraced by the crowds and doesn’t must battle dwelling illness.
“To see how they keep turning up for me, what a draw it feels like, how I‘ve been kind of embraced by people of Adelaide, to be honest, then coming out and supporting me. You really want to give it your all for them,” he mentioned.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else. Trust me, I‘d love if there were more tournaments in Australia. Probably what I struggle with the most. That‘s a luxury, pretty well-documented, a lot of Europeans and Americans have, a lot of tournaments in their backyard.
“When I have the chance to play in Australia or play at home, I’m going to try to make the most of it.”
The win units up a quarterfinal assembly with sixth-seeded Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, ranked No.28 on the earth, on Thursday evening.
“He’s another quality player, not as highly ranked as Rublev, but he’s bloody good,” Kokkinakis mentioned.
“I’m going to have to bring my ‘A game’ again.
“Just because I beat someone ranked No.6 doesn‘t mean I’m going to beat Kecmanovic.
“I know where my ranking is at, if I dip my level I’m not going to be able to play with these guys, so I got to keep my level up and keep playing well.”
