The shocking injury curse that has afflicted Thanasi Kokkinakis throughout his career has struck again, with the popular Australian forced to withdraw from Wimbledon after hurting his left knee during an ugly fall on Thursday.
In another heartbreaking moment for the South Australian, Kokkinakis was in significant pain after slipping mid-point against Lucas Pouille during the third set on Court 8 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
The 28-year-old, who recently withdrew from the Queen’s Club tournament due to concerns about a knee he had previously injured two years ago, immediately reached for the inside of the joint.
“I have got to see tomorrow with some scans about the severity of it, but I know I have done a similar injury to what I did at Queen’s, but the severity of it, it feels a bit worse, my gut feeling,” he told the ATP in a statement.
“I will find out more tomorrow but my next aim initially before I got injured was to play Atlanta on the hardcourt swing, but I have to get an MRI to see if that is possible or not.”
It was a day of mixed emotions for the Australian contingent.
World No. 9 Alex de Minaur was too classy for Jaume Munar when successful 62 6-2 7-5, while Alexei Popyrin set up a third round clash with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday after defeating 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-3.
But Adam Walton and Daria Saville suffered testing losses when edged in thrillers. Saville served for her match against Marta Kostyuk three times and held a match point in the second set before being edged 4-6 7-6 (2) 6-4 in 3hr 10min.
Walton produced an encouraging effort in his first Wimbledon before falling to Francisco Comesana 7-5 1-6 6-7 (12) 7-1 7-6 (8) in 4hr 8min.
But it is the injury to Kokkinakis, who has recently built a reputation as a marathon man in tennis given a string of massive comebacks at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, that proved most deflating.
The Melbourne-based right-hander, who defeated 17th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round, was able to regain his feet after a period as his concerned opponent rushed to his aid.
Trailing 6-2 5-7 2-4 in a highly-competitive match when the fall occurred, Kokkinakis received medical treatment immediately and returned to the court with his left knee heavily bandaged
But after making a backhand return on the following point, the former junior star was unable to chase down a shot directed to his forehand wing and then barely moved on the next two points as his rival aced him.
He glanced towards his coach Brandon Walkin and shook his head before walking back to the net to embrace a clearly concerned Pouille, who walked over to console him once again.
Nick Kyrgios, who was commentating Cameron Norrie’s win over Jack Draper for the BBC, posted a message with a broken heart on social media after the fall from Kokkinakis.
The latter had said on Wednesday that he hoped to reunite with the man he won an Australian Open doubles title with two years when Kyrgios returned to the tour next month.
Kokkinakis, who had been vying for the opportunity to play de Minaur in the third round, was able to carry his bags from the court but the injury is another clear blow for a player who has fought hard to regain his fitness and form.
A junior finalist at the Australian and US Opens, Kokkinakis was considered a star on the rise and was invited to spend a training block with Roger Federer as a teenager, a player he later defeated in the Miami Masters during one of his healthy periods on the court.
Back in 2015, at the age of 19, he reached the third round at Roland Garros and played Novak Djokovic on Court Philippe Chatrier, but suffered a serious shoulder injury that set him back throughout the next couple of years.
Kokkinakis, who also experienced stress fractures in his back during his junior career, had set up a clash with Rafael Nadal in New York in 2019, only for the shoulder problem to surface again.
He has since had issues with his pectoral muscle, his knees and also struggled with mental health problems for a period, but over the past two years he has demonstrated a determination to make the most of the time left in his career, as he said after defeating Auger-Aliassime.
Quizzed on Wednesday as to whether his recent form including the victory over the Canadian could prove the platform from which he could launch his best run at Wimbledon, Kokkinakis said that he hoped so.
“I’ve had that question a lot,” he said.
“Hopefully I can keep going on and see how we go, but I think this is the best I’ve felt … playing on a grass court, so that’s important.”
Instead he leaves Wimbledon with an injury cloud over his head once again.