Tennis world saddened by Aussie's 'devastating' news
Thanasi Kokkinakis has withdrawn from his second round match against Rafael Nadal at the US Open, reportedly due to a shoulder injury.
The 24-year-old has battled consistent injuries for several years since breaking into the ATP top 100 in 2015.
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Despite a memorable victory over Roger Federer at the Miami Open in 2018, Kokkinakis has struggled to get his body right.
Hopes were high after his first round win over Ilya Ivashka, but the rising star again succumbed to injury, allowing Nadal through to the third round at Flushing Meadows unimpeded.
Fans of Kokkinakis took to social media to express their disappointment over yet another setback.
One step forward two steps back for Kokkinakis ffs, such a damn shame https://t.co/EkHZxCKrpb
— Иван (@ivan_i94) August 29, 2019
Terrible for Kokkinakis, the guy can’t catch a break. Only good news is that it means less strain on Rafa’s Knees 🙏
— Olly (@Olly_ATP_2019) August 29, 2019
The spell that's been cast on Kokkinakis seems unbreakable.
— mcflakey (@luphumloleve) August 29, 2019
Devastating news for Kokkinakis .... forced through injury tonight to withdraw from the @usopen right before playing Rafael Nadal. The Aussie is as big an NBA junkie as I’ve ever met and wore a new @russwest44 Rockets shirsey to his postmatch press conference after winning in R1 https://t.co/sLbg6trlGF
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 29, 2019
Breaking news
Kokkinakis pulled out of his match with Rafa. Sad for kokkinakis, but Rafa to third round. Was looking forward to the match. I am sure Rafa is disappointed, but less strain on his body & knees.♥️— Moana (@Moana125) August 29, 2019
What a shame for Kokkinakis. He's owed some good fortune.
— Ravi Ubha (@raviubha) August 29, 2019
Kokkinakis battled for almost four hours on Tuesday to beat Ivashka in four sets in what was the 24-year-old's first main-draw win at a grand slam since the 2015 French Open
Federer fumes after ugly US Open first
Roger Federer has slammed the US Open court after starting slowly for the second match in a row in his Round 2 clash with Damir Dzhumhur.
The five-times champion came back again from a set down, beating Damir Dzhumhur 3-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the third round of the year's final grand slam.
During a rain affected day, the covered conditions were no help at the start to Federer, though he couldn't quite explain why.
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"I don't have an answer to you," he said. "It's just poor ball striking in the beginning."
But he then went on to criticise the speed of the US Open hard court this year, likening to clay.
“I’m really disappointed about the surface here: it’s like to play on clay,” Federer said.
“It’s hard court, but the ball is not even bouncing. It’s a pretty dead court in some ways. I do believe it’s slower than it has [been] in previous years.
“I’m not sure if it’s the balls or the speed of the court, but it’s definitely not on the faster side.
“This was like an indoor match so it’s great for ball striking, for big servers.”