Thanasi Kokkinakis will be playing in the main draw of the 2023 Italian Open in Rome, which is an ATP 1000 event.
The Australian didn't elect to play on the red dirt often during his career, but in 2023 he committed to play the full clay-court part of the ATP season, and so far, it's been full of ups and downs for Kokkinakis, who will now enter the main draw of the ATP Masters 1000 event on clay.
During his career, Kokkinakis entered the main draw of an ATP 1000 event on clay three times before, but he always lost in the first round. Now, he will make an appearance in the main draw of a tournament where he never played in the main draw before, and he'll also get a chance to record his first-ever win on the red dirt at this level.
It comes after a turbulent start of the clay-court part of the season. First, the Australian competed in Madrid and experienced a two-set loss, with both sets ending in a tie-break. After the match, Kokkinakis got into a heated exchange with his opponent Jaume Munar, but all eventually ended well.
After a first-round loss in the Spanish capital, he moved to Italy, but not yet to Rome. Kokkinakis competed at an ATP Challenger event in Cagliari, reaching the quarterfinals before eventually losing to Laslo Djere in three sets.
But he soon forgot the loss as he entered the qualifying draw of the 2023 Italian Open in Rome, also called the Rome Masters. In the first round, he navigated a difficult clash with home player Matteo Gigante, winning in two sets 7-5, 6-3.
And it seems that the Australian likes conditions in Rome as he won also in the final match of the qualifying, this time in even more dominant style, beating Jan Choinski 6-2, 6-2.
Now Kokkinakis will need to wait to see who will be his first-round opponent in his Rome debut. It can be anyone from Alexander Bublik, Nicolas Jarry, his first-round opponent from Madrid Jaume Munar, or another qualifier.
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