Google News
German tennis player Yannick Hanfmann admitted he was taken off-guard by the atmosphere after walking onto the court for his Australian Open first round clash against Thanasi Kokkinakis. Hanfmann was so stunned by the atmosphere that he even asked Kokkinakis what was going on.
"Unbelievable feeling because the walk in on the court was something I think maybe in soccer matches you have it sometimes, but this was a much smaller court and the atmosphere that the crowd brought today was incredible," Hanfmann said, per Lorenzo Carini.
"I walked on court and I asked Thanasi, like, what the hell is going on here? And I think even he was a bit taken off-guard."
Yannick #Hanfmann: "Unbelievable feeling because the walk in on the court was something I think maybe in soccer matches you have it sometimes, but this was a much smaller court and the atmosphere that the crowd brought today was incredible" — Lorenzo Carini (@LolloCarini00) January 17, 2022
Yannick #Hanfmann: "I walked on court and I asked Thanasi, like, what the hell is going on here? And I think even he was a bit taken off-guard"#AusOpen — Lorenzo Carini (@LolloCarini00) January 17, 2022
Hanfmann surprised Kokkinakis
Hanfmann entered the match as the underdog but ended up beating Kokkinakis in straight sets 6-2 6-3 6-2.
Kokkinakis was disappointed with his performance and promised he will try to be better next year. "Pretty flat after that I couldn’t get going today.. Thankyou for the support over the last couple weeks, has been incredible.
Will try and be better for next year," Kokkinakis tweeted. Last week, Kokkinakis captured his maiden ATP title after beating Arthur Rinderknech in the Adelaide 2 final. “When I saw that final ball went long, I don’t think I’ve ever felt emotions like that,” Kokkinakis reflected.
“You grow up playing, you never know if it’s ever going to happen. I made one (ATP) final before. “Down a set, down a mini break in the breaker. From then on, from 2-0 in the second set, I started to play really good tennis.
“To do it in Adelaide, a court I grew up playing on when I was seven, eight, nine years old, my hometown, in front of friends and family, they’ve had a tough year, ridden the ups and downs with me, yeah, I’m so happy”.