How Thanasi Kokkinakis predicted the knee injury that ruined his Wimbledon campaign in a light-hearted social media post
- Aussie withdrew from his match against Lucas Pouille
- After a grueling victory that took two days
- Kokkinakis concerned about injuries when playing on grass
Thanasi Kokkinakis will undergo an MRI scan in London to determine the severity of the injury that has scuppered his Wimbledon ambitions, predicting the heartbreaking turn of events in a social media post.
The Australian’s joy over his remarkable victory over 17th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, in which he was two sets down, turned to misery in his second-round match against French qualifier Lucas Pouille on Wednesday.
Kokkinakis, a big man who is often criticised for his insecure movement on grass courts, trailed 2-6 7-5 4-2 when he slipped and twisted his left knee as he tried to take a forehand.
The 28-year-old player fell over, clearly in agony, as former French No. 1 Pouille ran across the field to help him.
Kokkinakis eventually played one more game, but when he was 5-2 down, he limped over to Pouille to say he could not continue.
The day before the match, the Australian retweeted a post showing a video of cooked meat falling off a bone, with the caption “Thanasi Kokkinakis’ legs when he woke up this morning after 15 sets in 4 days”, referring to his marathon five-set victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime, which he needed two days to complete.
Kokkinakis added the word “Accurate” with a tears of joy emoji.
“It was a tough match. It started well, but there was a strange energy, it felt strange,” Kokkinakis said after his tournament ended.
Kokkinakis was forced to withdraw from the match early on after twisting his left knee and appeared discouraged as he received treatment for the injury (pictured)
The 28-year-old has previously spoken about his concerns about playing on grass pitches
Kokkinakis injured his knee and had to stay off the court for a week in the run-up to Wimbledon
The Australian had been unhappy the day before with a pesky man in the crowd who had pestered him and Auger-Aliassime to continue playing after rain had made the surface dangerous.
Two weeks ago, Kokkinakis suffered a similar fall at the Queen’s Club Championship on a wet court, injuring his medial collateral ligament and keeping him out of action for a week.
Two years ago he also sprained his left knee at a Challenger tournament in preparation for Wimbledon in nearby Surbiton, which kept him out of the sport for a month.
“He started playing good tennis and I tried to keep up with him but slipped and injured my knee,” he said.
‘I’ll assess the severity of it after some scans, but I know I’ve suffered a similar injury to the one I had at Queen’s Club.
‘But it still feels a little worse, that’s my gut feeling.’
Kokkinakis had planned to play a hardcourt tournament in Atlanta next.
Kokkinakis seemed to predict his injury when he made the above comment and retweeted a social media post showing cooked meat falling off a bone
“But now I have to have an MRI to see if that is possible or not,” said the world number 93.
He had stern words for a spectator who had criticised him and opponent Auger-Aliassime for leaving the field when it rained during their two-day match.
‘Okay, try moving on a dewy field. It’s one of the hardest things, especially since I injured myself at Queen’s and a few years ago.
‘I’m not going to let some muppet in the crowd dictate when I get back on the field, whether that means waiting an extra two minutes.
‘At first I was walking on eggshells a bit, but over time it became more and more comfortable.’