{"id":264285,"date":"2023-01-17T23:56:23","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T00:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=264285"},"modified":"2023-01-18T13:59:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T13:59:14","slug":"blockbuster-looming-for-tennis-great-warrior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=264285","title":{"rendered":"Blockbuster looming for tennis' great warrior"},"content":{"rendered":"

A titanic clash is looming at the Australian Open<\/a> that's sure to draw an enormous crowd featuring two heavyweights.<\/p>\n

All going to plan, Special Ks star Thanasi Kokkinakis<\/a> looks set to face tennis giant Andy Murray<\/a> in a second round clash on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Kokkinakis is yet to complete his first round match with Italian Fabio Fognini, but swept the leads it 6-1, 6-2 4-2 with play suspended due to rain.<\/p>\n

LIVE UPDATES:<\/strong> Australian Open 2023 day three highlights<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Aussie wildcard channels Hewitt in 2am epic<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Tennis top seed hit with 'tanking' accusations<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Murray, meanwhile, claimed first round honours over Matteo Berrettini in a five-set, five-hour, tiebreak thriller at Rod Laver Arena.<\/p>\n

\"Thanasi<\/p>\n

The man of steel claimed the scalp 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6 to dethrone the 13th seed and set up a second round berth.<\/p>\n

Speaking after Kokkinakis' match was suspended, tennis pro turned commentator Mark Petchey said the 26-year-old still has a lot left in the tank.<\/p>\n

Watch the Australian Open live and free on the Nine Network: Channel 9, 9Gem and <\/strong><\/em>9NOW<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

"Well, he hasn't been to where I think his peak is, that's for sure," Petchey said, speaking on Stan Sport's Grand Slam Daily<\/em>.<\/p>\n

"No.69 in the world is his highest ranking, he's well outside of that at the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"Obviously (if) he does get through here he plays Andy here and that's going to be a cracking match.<\/p>\n

"From that point of view, I think Thanasi's best years are ahead of him, for sure."<\/p>\n

\"Thanasi<\/p>\n

As for Murray, the 35-year-old man with a metal hip can't be counted out.<\/p>\n

"That was some magic from Andy," said Petchey of his first round match.<\/p>\n

"He's a mystery, isn't he? Still here, 35 years of age. Still coming back here. Metal hip.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"You keep thinking 'this has got to be it, this has got to be it' and then he has the heartbreak here. Five finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"We're writing him off, we're giving him a retirement party, and all of a sudden he comes through in an absolutely epic saving match point (on Tuesday).<\/p>\n

"I'll never count him out. I think he'll bounce back. But obviously it's not the perfect start if he wants to make a deep run here."<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/p>\n

Before Kokkinakis faces Murray, two of his countrymen will look to advance to the third round.<\/p>\n

Jason Kubler will face Russia's Karen Khachanov, who beat Nick Kyrgios in last year's US Open quarter finals.<\/p>\n

John Millman, meanwhile, goes head-to-head with Daniil Medvedev. The Russian lost last year's Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller.<\/p>\n

Petchey has high hopes for Kubler, although the same cannot be said for Millman despite his epic first round win over Marc-Andrea Huesler.<\/p>\n

\"Jason<\/p>\n

"I love Jason Kubler," said Petchey.<\/p>\n

"We all know the story and the background, but most importantly, his tennis is world-class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"When he's on, he is a handful. He has got the game, he has got the ability, he's got the wins under his belt, more importantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"When he takes on Khachanov, I like his chances in that one."<\/p>\n

Petchey wasn't so keen on Millman's chances against Russian superstar Medvedev.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"I thought Daniil looked very good (on Monday night) coming back onto heartbreak ridge after what happened to him last year and he put that behind him so emphatically.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"I'm not sure what John's got in his game apart from endurance, perseverance, and heart. That carries you a long way and that's carried him through a very illustrious career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"I just don't think his serve is big enough to cause Daniil too many problems."<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A titanic clash is looming at the Australian Open that's sure to draw an enormous crowd featuring two heavyweights. All going to plan, Special Ks […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264285"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=264285"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":264287,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264285\/revisions\/264287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=264285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=264285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=264285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}