The 19 year-old rising Australian star Kokkinakis made it into the main draw of the Western & Southern Open, but he admits that the last few days have not been easy. He found himself in the limelight last week when his friend and fellow countryman Kygrios involved him in a crude insult directed at his opponent Stan Wawrinka in Montreal last week.
This was just followed up with his heated encounter with Ryan Harrison after defeating the American in three sets. While Harrison says that he only said “good match” during their handshake after the match, the two had to be broken up by the umpire and Harrison was heard saying, “These kids have got to get under control.”
Kokkinakis has lost a good amount of sleep due to all of the unnecessary drama, but he has finally spoken up saying that his friend Kyrgios’s behavior was inappropriate. Unlike his two countrymen, Kokkinakis has managed to stay out of the tabloids until now. Uncomfortable with negative attention, Kokkinakis is doing everything he can to put it behind him. Kokkinakis and Kyrgios have since talked through it and Kyrgios has apologized to his friend for his crude remark. Kokkinakis has also cleared the air with Wawrinka and Vekic, though the details are unknown.
The world no. 76 wants to focus solely on his tennis. Aware of his talent and potential, Kokkinakis is not looking to rack up any fines or distracting news. The Australian has just gotten through a tough qualifying draw and is now looking to make a deep run at Cincinnati.
