TENNIS: Thanasi Kokkinakis was forced to retire from his first-round US Open match against Richard Gasquet after suffering debilitating leg cramps.
In heartbreaking circumstances, the young Aussie had played brilliantly to build a two-sets-to-one lead over the No.12 seed, only for the brutal conditions to take their toll.
“Probably the most (devastating loss of my career). It’s just frustrating ’cause I started playing good tennis. I was getting fired up,” he said.
“(At) 1-1, 30-0 in the fourth set, I was bouncing the ball. Then immediately I started to feel my forearm go. I’m like, Oh, no, this is bad.
“I didn’t feel tired physically either, which is the most frustrating thing about it. I actually felt all right. My energy levels were good, and then I went up to hit a swing and volley or something, and both my calves … it was just disaster.
“Yeah, I’m pretty shattered.”
In the intense heat and humidity of New York, it was his right quadricep that ultimately gave him the most trouble and his movement became severely compromised.
Barely able to run for shots – and at some stages even stand up – Kokkinakis gamely tried to fight on but it was futile.
“The crowd was trying to help me. I thank them for that. I was trying to push through. I hit the odd slap winner there, but I couldn’t sustain that,” he said.
“With a player like him, if you’re not 100 per cent, he’s going to move you around. I was dust.”
After Gasquet claimed the fourth set and moved ahead a break in the fifth, the South Australian indicated to the chair umpire that he could not continue.
Kokkinakis smashed his racquet on the court in anger, shattered at having to retire when trailing 4-6 6-1 4-6 6-3 2-0.
“I was playing good tennis. Would have been one of the biggest wins of my career,” Kokkinakis lamented.
“Maybe I’ll look into researching a bit more and try to get my tests done so it doesn’t happen again because there’s nothing more frustrating.”
Smith rues missed opportunities
At the same time Kokkinakis was battling on Court 5, his compatriot John-Patrick Smith was engaged in a battle of his own against Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny.
After being blown away in the first set, the Queenslander levelled the match with a great second set performance.
Yet despite gaining service breaks in both the third and fourth sets, Smith could not maintain his advantage.
The Aussie qualifier ultimately went down 6-1 3-6 7-5 7-6(4).
In other Australia results:
Lleyton Hewitt progressed to the second round of the US Open after opponent Aleksandr Nedovyesov retired from their match with a shoulder injury.
Hewitt lead 6-0 7-6(2) 1-0 before the Kazakh withdrew.
Korean teen Hyeon Chung defeated James Duckworth, 6-3 6-1 6-2.
Aussie qualifier John-Patrick Smith succumbed to Mikhail Youzhny, 6-1 3-6 7-5 7-6(4).
Ajla Tomljanovic lost to Karin Knapp, 6-7(1) 6-2 6-4.
TENNIS AUSTRALIA
