Thanasi Kokkinakis is relishing the opportunity to get started with his Australian teammates ahead of the Davis Cup Finals.
2022 was an impressive Davis Cup campaign for the Australian team as they finished runners up to eventual winners Canada. But, as a reward for their strong run last season, the Australian side won a bye straight to the final group stages, which run between September 12 and 17.
Australia have a tough group in Manchester as they face Great Britain on home turf and France and Switzerland. Despite some of the potential challenges, Australia's second-ranked player Kokkinakis told Tennis.au about the uniqueness of representing his country and the uniqueness of the Davis Cup.
"We’ve had some special moments, obviously as a team. Making the final last year was a very cool experience.”
"It’s an exciting time … it’s good to be with the boys. There's not many weeks like it. They’re very different to the usual weeks that you get on tour, so it’s always an enjoyable experience – a little bit more pressure, but its good fun having a group and travelling with a team.”
In addition, Kokkinakis is eager to use his previous Davis Cup experience in Great Britain to his advantage. When reflecting on the 2015 semi-final in Glasgow against Great Britain, the 27-year old shared his desire to thrive in a similar atmosphere this time around.
"Playing against GB last time in Glasgow was a crazy atmosphere. That’s something that was very different to what I’d experienced before. I’m curious to see if it’s going to be similar this time around.”
"That atmosphere is something I’ll never forget, I think it was a smaller sort of stadium with a closed roof, so it got super loud. But I think whether the fans are going for or against you, having that sort of atmosphere is what you want to play in. It helps kind of get you going a little bit, adrenaline-wise and just it’s what excites you to play.”
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