Kokkinakis wins first title of 2023 with return to top 100 incoming

Thanasi Kokkinakis became the Manama Challenger champion after defeating the young Abedallah Shelbayh in two sets.

Kokkinakis hasn't played in a tournament since the Australian Open, where he was eliminated in the second round by Andy Murray after winning the first two sets, in one of the best matches of the year so far. Almost a month later, the Australian appeared on the field again, and in the best way because he reached the crown.

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The 26-year-old player has never had enough consistency on tour, having recently dropped out of the top-100 for failing to defend his points from Adelaide 2022. Thanks to this week result, he becomes the new world No. 100, and it could be the beginning of a good year, which will allow Kokkinakis to surpass his best ranking so far (69th).

Before lifting the trophy, he had to beat some tricky players, like his compatriot Alexei Popyrin, and German Jan-Lennard Struff. In the final he met the surprise of the tournament, 19-year-old player Abedallah Shelbayh from Jordan, who couldn't do much against the former Australian Open doubles champion, with a result of 6-1, 6-4 for Kokkinakis.

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