Raucous Adelaide crowd, sweaty conditions, and a fired up Thanasi.
That’s exactly what you need in the oven for Kokkinakis to get cooking as the Aussie has a stack in his favour ahead of Monday night’s tilt against Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
Kokkinakis was defeated by an in-form Ricky Hijikata at Brisbane, but the market still has faith in the 27-year-old, and so do I.
It was two years ago at this very stadium where Kokkinakis produced the biggest week of his career, claiming this title with a victory over Rinderknech – I’ll never forget it.
He pulled himself up off the canvas in several contests and gave the crowd exactly what it wanted, but probably never expected.
Thanasi will aim to do a similar thing this week as he needs to get going in style against someone who’s not overly accustomed to success on hard courts, especially at the start of the season.
Lajovic put together a sneaky run on US hard courts last season, but if you look at the long-form data, it’s very clear he doesn’t have the ability to string together anything special, and I believe special is what will be require to knock off the hometown guy tonight.
I often criticise Kokkinakis and his lack of conviction in lesser tournaments or when he’s not in the spotlight, but that won’t be an issue tonight.
I think you’ll get the best version of the Australian and I don’t expect this match to be all that close.
Suggested Bet
1.5 units Thanasi Kokkinakis to WIN @ $1.53 with Pinnacle
Over 18s Only (21+ in some jurisdictions). 1 unit = 1% of bankroll. Please enjoy your betting responsibly. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, and do not chase a loss.
Jake’s ATP Adelaide Preview: Lajovic vs. Kokkinakis
