Poor Kokkinakis

The Australian was once again forced to retire during his last match last week and will try to go all the way this time.

During the Montreal qualifying, Kokkinakis took an MTO for a back problem after just one game played and was clearly hampered. After that, he still tried to keep going but ended up retiring because he couldn’t do much more than serve and try to hit a winner on the next shot. On the one hand, I’m glad to see him entered here and, for now, he hasn’t withdrawn, which would mean it’s not as serious as expected. We’re still talking about a player who doesn’t hesitate to stop for six months when an injury really bothers him. Maybe he got scared or felt something and in the end it wasn’t that bad. I feel that even when he’s injured, he’s more than capable of hanging in there and could grit his teeth this week.

He’s already won a bunch of matches while injured or not at 100%. But betting on him would still be playing with fire, wouldn’t it?

It’s a shame because I really like the match-up. His playing style is everything Borges hates: a good server and someone who hurts you with a powerful forehand right from the first rallies. When you take time away from Borges and force him to defend all the time, the Portuguese loses some of his shine. I think his level of play is excellent right now, but this is already the second or third time he’s lost matches because he lacks that killer instinct to bury his opponents and never let them come back. It’s his little soft spot: he can tighten up and lack a bit of confidence. That’s also why he hates this kind of match-up, because you have to be excellent on every single chance and convert all your opportunities.

Borges leads 2–0 in the head-to-head without having lost a set. I’m slightly toning down what I said earlier in the sense that Kokkinakis mainly has an outstanding serve, but in rallies he can be solid and wait for his opponent’s mistake. He’s not the type who tries to win the point in two shots in every game. Maybe that’s why Borges does a bit better against him. Whereas, for example, a player like Kovacevic, whom he played recently and struggled against, is a bit more troublesome because the American wants to come to the net and immediately put pressure on with his forehand. Kokkinakis can afford to wait a bit more.