Kokkinakis Rallies Through Pain for Adelaide Breakthrough
Thanasi Kokkinakis turns shoulder agony into triumph, clawing past Sebastian Korda in a gritty first-round battle at the Adelaide International that signals his return from a year of setbacks.
Under the baking Adelaide sun at Memorial Drive, Thanasi Kokkinakis launched his singles comeback with a roar from the home crowd. Returning after radical surgery on his pectoral muscle following the 2025 Australian Open, the 29-year-old dropped the first set 3-6 to Sebastian Korda, the No. 51 in the PIF ATP Rankings. But he flipped the momentum, rallying to 6-3, 7-6(3) in a tense two-hour, 26-minute duel that marked his first win in four ATP Head2Head meetings.
Kokkinakis’s serve, tempered by caution after months sidelined, started shaky as Korda’s flat inside-out forehands pinned him deep. He adjusted by leaning into heavy topspin from the baseline, climbing forward to disrupt the American’s rhythm with crosscourt exchanges. Midway through the second set, with a 5-1 lead in sight, pain flared in his shoulder, prompting a physio visit that hushed the packed stands.
“Oh man. It’s been a rough 12 months, but this makes it all worth it,” said Kokkinakis in his on-court interview. “I had my eye on this in Adelaide, and I knew I’d come to a packed crowd and everyone cheering. Thank you so much, I love it here.”
Pain tests resolve mid-match
The flare-up echoed issues that had plagued Kokkinakis throughout his career, forcing him to weigh every swing against the risk of setback. He pushed on, mixing slice backhands with down-the-line forehands to shorten points and spare his arm the grind. Korda clawed back to 5-4, but Kokkinakis held firm, carrying the decider into a tiebreak where a sharp 1–2 pattern—serve into deep forehand—sealed the 7-6(3) escape.
“It’s something that I feel like I’ve been dealing with my whole career it feels like,” Kokkinakis reflected later. “I’ve worked so hard to even give myself a chance to get back on this court. Second set I hit a serve and it didn’t feel great. I was talking to my team every two minutes about whether I should stop. I felt like, ‘Even if I win, at what cost?’ I don’t know. I always try and win, especially here in Adelaide. I don’t know if I can go any further, but I love it here so I’m trying my best.”
The Adelaide International crowd, who last saw him lift his only ATP Tour title here in 2022, turned the venue into a wall of noise, their cheers steadying him through the wobble.
And the crowd goes wild! @TKokkinakis comes from a set down to defeat Korda and claim his first win since undergoing surgery in February 2025.@AdelaideTennis | #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/GmxEIagRmT
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 12, 2026
Crowd fuel drives defiance
That energy pulsed through the Australian Open tune-up, drowning out the doubt as Kokkinakis refused to yield his lead. His tactical shifts—more net approaches and underspin to exploit the grippy hard courts—wore down Korda’s aggressive returns, which had thrived on faster Brisbane surfaces. This victory, born of grit over power, positions him against fifth seed Valentin Vacherot in the second round.
The Monegasque, who stunned the tennis world by winning the Shanghai Masters as a qualifier last October, edged Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(5), 6-4 with flat groundstrokes that could probe any lingering hesitation in Kokkinakis’s game. Vacherot’s composure in tight sets mirrors the mental edge Kokkinakis summoned, setting up a clash of comebacks on these responsive courts.
Draw ripples with resilient wins
Elsewhere on Monday, Ugo Humbert rebounded from a Brisbane exit, outlasting Terence Atmane 6-3, 7-6(3) in an all-lefty scrap. The former World No. 13’s serve-volley forays neutralized power, earning a matchup with fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor where baseline wars loom large. Humbert’s tiebreak poise hints at the sharpening edges across the ATP 250 field.
Reilly Opelka fired 22 aces to topple home favorite Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 7-6(6), his towering deliveries overwhelming inside-in attempts from the Australian. Next, he faces good friend and second seed Tommy Paul, a quarterfinal preview brimming with big-serve drama on the medium-paced hard courts.
Jaume Munar flipped a 0-3 hole against Daniel Altmaier, reeling off 12 straight games for a 6-3, 6-0 rout with probing slices that exposed backhand frailties. He’ll test third seed Francisco Cerundolo next, pitting endurance against topspin barriers in a draw alive with second chances.
As the Adelaide International builds toward the Australian Open, Kokkinakis’s rally stands as proof of an unbreakable will. The pectoral strain lingers, but this hometown breakthrough—fueled by @TKokkinakis‘s defiance and @AdelaideTennis‘s roar under #AdelaideTennis—could propel him deeper if the adjustments hold. Memorial Drive’s electric tempo now echoes a fighter reborn, ready to probe weaknesses with varied depths on courts that reward the bold.
