Local hero and defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis has crashed out of his home town Adelaide International after suffering a first-round loss to Serbian Dušan Lajović.
Lajović overcame an indifferent start to elevate his play as the night wore on and leave the Memorial Drive crowd disappointed after winning 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The defeat means Kokkinakis will enter the Australian Open winless since last October. He subsequently missed the Davis Cup finals with an ankle injury before suffering an opening-round loss to countryman Rinky Hijikita on his return in Brisbane last week.
Kokkinakis announced himself with his thrilling, emotional ride to the 2022 title here as a wildcard, which included a dramatic final-set tie-break to beat Marin Cilic in the semi-finals, but his dreams of replicating that feat ended on Monday, Lajović’s superior consistency from the back of the court telling.
“I thought I came out pretty well, [and] played a good [first] set of tennis … didn’t do much wrong,” Kokkinakis said.
“I lost a little bit of focus at the start of the second. I would have loved to have done better here but I’m not quite where I need to be.”
Kokkinakis played with authority early, his first serve virtually impenetrable in the opening set before Lajović eventually figured it out.
The South Australian unleashed a thunderous return to secure the first break of the match and take a 3-1 lead before impressively taking the opening set when the Serb pushed a backhand long.
But the experienced Lajović, who stunned compatriot Novak Djokovic on the Bosnian clay last year, was not going to be a pushover.
Kokkinakis became error-riddled in the second set, seemingly troubled by the softness of the balls and he was made to pay by Lajović.
After the South Aussie miscued a forehand to concede his serve in the fourth game, Lajović broke again in the sixth game – this time to love – before drilling a crosscourt forehand winner to send the match into a third set.
Kokkinakis fell behind a break in the decider before breaking back three games later with a crowd-pleasing, down-the-line forehand winner.
He continued to lead his fans on a rollercoaster ride when he dug his way out of a 0-40 deficit to hold and move ahead 4-3.
Lajović responded with a tense hold before breaking Kokkinakis again, then serving it out clinically, sealing victory with a big forehand.
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Kokkinakis criticised the softness of the tennis balls after the loss, comparing the balls to “lemons”.
He said felt the balls used neutralised his powerful serve and were the softest he had encountered outside last year’s Cincinnati Masters.
“I remember here usually being a lot quicker,” he said.
“[Serving only] four aces is not something I’m used to, especially on a fairly quick playing surface. When the balls get super slow it feels like there’s a ton of time on return.
“They’re a lot slower than [anywhere] last year in general for the most part, maybe barring Cincinnati.
“The balls, after a few rallies, get super slow and they turn into lemons. It makes it tough, especially when it’s colder, to get much power on the ball.”
While clearly frustrated by the balls, Kokkinakis felt the match was lost on his own racquet, notably during the match-turning second set.
“I don’t think it was him playing incredible in that second set,” he said.
“He was steady, he’s a good pro and a tough player. It looks like a 6-1 set but it was just me losing focus. I felt like a lot of it was on my racquet – I made a few errors and all of a sudden it’s a dogfight.
“That’s my biggest weakness to be honest. When I’m playing well I take my foot off the gas. I maybe go for some shots that aren’t there and lose a bit of focus.
“It changed the whole momentum of the match.”
