Kokkinakis has a special K relationship with WWE, which celebrated his men’s doubles victory at the 2022 Australian Open by presenting Kokkinakis and partner Nick Kyrgios with personalized championship belts.
“Someone already passed me a table,” Kokkinakis joked upon receiving the gift before that year’s Miami Open.
The 28-year-old Adelaide native hopes to attract even more public support in a blockbuster quarter-final clash with No.2 seed Sebastian Korda, who won all three matches against Kokkinakis, including a near miss at the Mubadala Citi DC Open last summer. .
-“I had match points against him in Washington and he passed me a ball on the line and won the match and the tournament,” said Kokkinakis, currently ranked 77th in the ATP rankings. “So, for this one, I still have demons, to be honest. »
Korda and Adelaide’s top seed Tommy Paul both advanced in their second-round matches earlier in the afternoon, with Korda edging past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 6-3, 6-3, while Paul overcame a hiccup in the second set to defeat Manuel Guinard, 6. -4, 3-6, 6-3.
