Thanasi Kokkinakis in awful scenes as Alexei Popyrin produces stunning upset at Wimbledon

Thanasi Kokkinakis has left Aussie tennis fans in shock having withdrawn from his second round Wimbledon clash due to a nasty fall injury. Kokkinakis had the tennis world in raptures after the first round at SW19 having come from two sets down to defeat 17th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

This marked Kokkinakis' fifth five-set match so far at grand slams in 2024. And supporters were preparing for another long match in the second round with the Aussie one-set all with his opponent, before disaster struck.

Trailing in the third set against French qualifier Lucas Pouille, Kokkinakis took a tumble when he was running for a forehand. The Aussie clutched at his troubled knee after the point.

The Aussie appeared to injure the same left knee he hurt at Queen's Club last week and was in agony. After attempting to fight through the pain, Kokkinakis had no choice but to retire injured in a brutal setback for the Aussie. His injury also ended any hope of meeting Alex de Minaur in the third round in an all-Aussie encounter.

Kokkinakis has been hampered by injuries throughout his career and the latest knee injury left Aussie fans devastated for the 28-year-old. "I've got to see tomorrow with some scans about the severity of it, but I know I have done a similar injury to what I have in Queen's, but it feels a bit worse, my gut feeling, but I'll find out more tomorrow," Kokkinakis said of the injury.

"My next aim initially before I got injured was to play Atlanta next on the hardcourt swing [in late July], but I have to get an MRI to see if that is possible or not." Kokkinakis was not the only player to retire injured after Hubert Hurkasz also retired from his match with a knee injury.

Alexei Popyrin sets up Novak Djokovic clash

While Kokkinakis was left broken after his knee halted his Wimbledon run, fellow Aussie Alexei Popyrin set-up a clash with Novak Djokovic. Popyrin won a marathon battle against 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3 in just under four hours. The Sydneysider now faces a huge task in taking down seven-time champion Djokovic.

"I had my chances in Australia, I felt comfortable out there on Rod Laver with the Aussie crowd behind me, but he's gonna be a whole different beast at Wimbledon," said Popyrin. "I'm gonna expect a full-fit Novak Djokovic, I'm gonna have to bring my A game."

De Minaur also progressed past the second round having defeated Spanish player Jaume Munar winning 6-2 6-2 7-5. And de Minaur was thrilled to see Popyrin advance on the same side of the draw the No.9 seed is on.

"It's great. It's uplifting," said the No.9 seed. "It's what we've always wanted, right? I remember when I started, there was always talk about our lack of players in the top 100 playing the best tournaments in the world. It shows the rest of the world, the other nations, we're ready."

Unfortunaetly, Adam Walton wasn't able to continue his dream run at Wimbledon having gone down 5-7 6-1 6-7 (12-14) 6-1 7-6 (10-8) in four hours eight minutes to Argentine Francisco Comesana. "When I came off court I was absolutely shattered, I came so close," admitted the 25-year-old Queenslander.