Inside the journey of Thanasi Kokkinakis

Thanasi Kokkinakis is no different than most people in the world. The 27-year-old has plenty of hobbies like spending time with his mates, driving his new — and first — car, and watching basketball, especially his favourite player, Chris Paul.

The Australian just happens to be one of the best tennis players in the world and on Friday will face recent Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, the No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.

About a decade ago, Kokkinakis, then 17, burst onto the scene by qualifying for the Brisbane ATP 250 event and pushing former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in a tight two-setter. Later that month he won his first Grand Slam match at his home major and the expectations quickly grew.

“I remember my first couple Grand Slam wins in Australia, I was on my phone just scrolling and refreshing and just seeing what people were talking about me. It's crazy, you get this newfound attention. You're like, ‘Oh, I got this’,” Kokkinakis recalled. “Everyone around is following, everyone's talking about you. You get a lot of messages, and then you soon realise that if you get your head stuck in the phone, you're gonna be in some strife, because that's tennis.

“You've got to keep going and be able to back it up. And that's what's so impressive about these guys that have been at the top of the game for so long.”

While Sinner has enjoyed a relatively smooth rise to the top of the sport, Kokkinakis has been through plenty of ups and downs. In December 2015, he underwent surgery and it took years to fully recover. From October 2015 through May 2017, he played just one match.

“I came back and I felt like I was nowhere near the player I was before because I was at my career high. And then I had shoulder surgery straight after my first full year on Tour. I think there were a lot of people touting me as one of the top guys to look at in the future,” Kokkinakis said. “When that kind of sets you back, it's tough. And then you have this expectation of where you were before you got injured. And then you start playing again, you feel like you're way off the mark.”

While fans eagerly awaited Kokkinakis’ return, he had plenty of doubts.

“I was genuinely thinking about quitting. I would play a few matches, and I was like, ‘I am so far off it’. I felt like a fish out of water on the court. And then even in practice, I remember I was like, ‘I don't have many tournaments left’,” Kokkinakis said. “I think I had a few protected rankings left. So I was like I was going to use this for the Slams, pick up the cash and I think that could be [it for] me, especially for the time being.”

But Kokkinakis began competing well against some of the best players in the world. At Roland Garros in 2017, he pushed Kei Nishikori to four sets.

“That gave myself a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel being like, ‘If I can push this far with barely any training and barely any matches, I'm doing okay’. Then I had a good match with Del Potro at Wimbledon, which I lost in a tough four-setter,” Kokkinakis said. “I was like, ‘I'm not super far away’. And then I ended up making my first ATP final in Cabo not far after that. So that kind got me going again. It doesn't take much to sort of turn it around.”

Kokkinakis has gone through other injury struggles since then. But for the past two years, he has been able to stay on the court and by doing so, remained for the most part in the world’s Top 100.

It has not all been about staying healthy physically, either. It has also been taking care of the mental side of the sport. Some players completely focus on tennis, whether they are training, competing or studying to improve their game.

Kokkinakis does his job at an elite level, but when he has free time he is not shy about getting his head away from the tennis court.

“For me, it's massive. It's huge,” Kokkinakis said. “Some people maybe all they think about is tennis and that's what works for them. But for me, I struggle with that. I do enough of it throughout the year where anytime I can watch something else, if it's reality TV, if it's NBA, or just something to take my mind off it.

“I think if I'm thinking all tennis, tennis, tennis, I'll drive myself insane. I'm trying to enjoy my few years left in the sport, where I can and so trying not to burn myself out.”

There have been times — mostly years ago — when Kokkinakis would wake up in the middle of the night to watch basketball. He recalls being in Bordeaux at an ATP Challenger Tour event in 2015.

“I came from qualies and the Rockets, I was following them because Chris Paul was on the team then. They were in the playoffs and making a run and the time difference there was brutal,” Kokkinakis said. “I was waking up at 3 a.m. and then going back to sleep after it. It was crazy.

“My coaches weren't happy and I can't do it now because I'm the worst sleeper. But I was doing that to try and look at something to look forward to through the night. I feel like when they win, I feel like I'm going to have a good day. If they lose, I woke up pretty sour, I'm not going to lie.”

That week in Bordeaux, Kokkinakis won his first ATP Challenger Tour title.

A moment Kokkinakis called “crazy” was what he experienced when he won his hometown ATP Tour event in Adelaide in 2022.

“It was my best ever memory and then I feel like I've got to play a whole other tournament two days later. For me that was almost my Super Bowl in a way. That was what I dreamed of winning,” Kokkinakis said. “Of course, you want to win a Grand Slam, but to win your home title, that was everything for me. So that was huge and an exciting moment. And then to feel like I've got to play again in another tournament with no celebration, that's the bit that I find tough about tennis.”

Kokkinakis explained that “you don’t get much time to enjoy stuff”.

“If you win you've got to play again the next day,” Kokkinakis said. “So the biggest thing is trying not to stay too high and too low.”

The Australian will hope that he hits a high Friday and hands Sinner his first loss of 2024.