Thanasi Kokkinakis’ (above) recent form slump continued after his loss to Marcel Granollers in the first round of St Petersburg Open.
The Spaniard thrashed the Aussie teen, winning the match in straight sets. Kokkinakis could not seem to capitalise on serve and broke five times in the short contest, lasting only 75 minutes. He did not find it any easier returning the serve and was able to break only one point throughout the contest.
There were moments in the first set where Kokkinakis showed off the athleticism and bag of tricks that saw him topple fellow Aussie Bernard Tomic at the French Open back in May. However, he was unable to sustain it and struggled to get into any sort of rhythm.
This is now the seventh time Kokkinakis has failed to progress into second round in the last eight tournaments.
Kokkinakis drew unwanted attention the world over in mid-August, after being at the centre of fellow Aussie Nick Kyrgios’s famous “Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend” sledge.
World number five and tournament favourite, Czech Tomas Berdych, has also been given his boarding pass following a shock loss to Italy’s Simone Bolelli.
The tournament concludes this Sunday. – Jackson Thomas
Top photo from Marisha’s flickr stream
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