Pain, pride and Australian crowds: Thanasi Kokkinakis fights back as Kasatkina embraces home debut

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Daria Kasatkina secured long-awaited and much-anticipated victories to the delight of the Australian fans at the Adelaide International. Kokkinakis returned to singles competition after a year away — leaving behind pectoral surgery — and made his comeback with a win over Sebastian Korda, reacting emotionally as he once again tasted victory.

The same was true for Kasatkina, who since changing her citizenship in 2025 had not recorded a win on Australian soil under her new flag. After falling in Brisbane last week, she this time claimed a convincing victory over Maria Sakkari to rediscover confidence and deliver another win for the local crowd.

Thanasi Kokkinakis enjoyed a special return to the singles courts this Monday at Adelaide, defeating Sebastian Korda in the first round 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(3). The Australian was competing again after a year away from the courts, following pectoral surgery in January 2025.

A year earlier — precisely in the quarter-finals of Adelaide — Kokkinakis had been forced to retire due to pectoral discomfort during his match against Korda, who would go on to finish runner-up at the tournament. This time, despite dealing with shoulder issues, he managed to push through for the victory. “I know what tomorrow is looking like for me — and I don’t love it,” he said in his press conference. “Fingers crossed, the anti-inflammatories work some wonders.”

The 29-year-old was returning to the courts after an unusual operation, in which an Achilles tendon from a deceased donor was transplanted to repair his right pectoral muscle. However, he clarified that the discomfort he felt this time was different. “I had a pec surgery, that was more muscle; this one is in my shoulder,” he said. “I have had a shoulder surgery as well, but that was probably caused from the surgery I had to the pec. So there’s a lot of niggles and a lot of things going on.”

“It was a mental effort, for sure,” he added. “There were a lot of times I thought about stopping, and am I going to do more damage if I keep playing? But it’s really hard to stop. Maybe for the sake of my body, it was smarter if I stop.

“But playing your home tournament, the only title I have won in singles, it makes it really hard to just be like: ‘Yeah, I think I’ll stop here’.”

The world No. 540 will face fifth seed Valentin Vacherot in the second round — the player who just a few months ago emerged as a massive surprise by winning the Shanghai Masters title while ranked outside the top 200. Kokkinakis acknowledged that he will be cautious regarding how his shoulder pain progresses, casting doubt over whether he will be physically ready.

“I had conversations with my team: I was like, ‘At what cost am I playing? Even if I get through this match, so what?’” he explained. “I had the surgery so I could back up matches and go through a tournament. But I’ll never really find out until I go through a long match and see where I’m at after.”

Earlier in the day, the Australians had already celebrated a major victory thanks to one of their local stars: former top-10 player Daria Kasatkina, who secured her first win as an Australian on home soil — and against none other than former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari, who had been in strong form at the United Cup.

Kasatkina arrived in Adelaide following an early first-round exit in Brisbane International, a result that only deepened a difficult period after an inconsistent 2025 season. However, in Adelaide she rediscovered confidence, defeating Sakkari in straight sets 7–6(2), 6–4, in a match marked by breaks of serve from both players.

“Honestly, I was waiting for this moment all summer,” said the 28-year-old, who changed her citizenship less than a year ago. “And I was super nervous. I was coming from Brisbane, losing a tough match there, and then seeing the draw here … it’s such a strong tournament.”

“Honestly, I’m over the moon right now. It feels so special. And you guys making it special… honestly it’s a super special day for me, and I really wanted to finally experience this feeling of winning a match in front of the home crowd … it feels pretty addictive.”

“All of the previous years I was very, very jealous of the Australian players because they’ve got this privilege — to play in front of their home crowd, to have a home Slam. But I was never expecting to be one of them.”

‘Dasha’ is rewarded with ranking points that lift her to No. 43 in the live rankings, and her next opponent will be qualifier Jaqueline Cristian, who is coming off a surprise win over fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round. Another victory for Kasatkina would secure her return to the top 40.