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Rising Australian star Thanasi Kokkinakis is extremely motivated to make it past the Australian Open qualifying and clinch a place in the main draw of the opening Grand Slam of the season. Kokkinakis, ranked at No. 145 in the world, was surprisingly overlooked by Tennis Australia and didn't get an Australian Open wildcard.
But the Australian made a promising start in the qualifying as he saw off Egypt's Mohamed Safwat 6-2 7-6 (4). "I have a lot of motivation here, but I have to try and find the balance between playing calm and being too fired up," Kokkinakis said, per the AAP and Tennis Australia.
"I just need to play my game, I know where my level can be at. I just need to focus and recover, making sure my body is ready for the next one." Kokkinakis is set to clash next against Austrian Sebastian Ofner as he targets to play in a Grand Slam main draw for the first time since last year's Australian Open.
Kokkinakis has dealt with several injuries so far in his career despite being only 22 years old. "A lot of times I can be very up and down. When I’m up, I'm very good, when I’m down I'm not so good. I need to find a balance and keep going," Kokkinakis revealed.
Former world No. 69 Kokkinakis dealt with a knee soreness during the offseason. "The body is feeling good. I was a bit limited in what I could do in the off season. It was less on court specific stuff and more focus on my rehabilitation, trying to get my conditioning up and I think it’s paid off," Kokkinakis said.
"I think I'll be playing some great tennis by mid year." Also read: Kooyong: Bernard Tomic claims singles win, then mixed doubles win with sister