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BNP PARIBAS OPENMarch 16, 2015Thanasi KokkinakisINDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA T. KOKKINAKIS/J. Monaco THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How is it feeling? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Tiring, but I'm more happy than anything. Relieved, as well. Made life difficult for myself, but he made it difficult for me, too. Tough player. Made a lot of balls. Made me work for it in the end, but I'm happy to get through. Q. Was it mentally or physically at the end? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: A bit a both. Mentally, I would say. I physically I thought I was okay. Obviously to have match point and then to gag it, I was up I was up a set and a break in the second set. I thought I was the better player from that part. Obviously he started playing some better tennis and he was too good for me in the second set. 5‑3 in the third set I thought I was playing better tennis, as well. But it was a scrappy match for both. It was a real mental battle out there, but I got it done in the end. Q. What happened at the start of the third set? You seemed to be quite in a tough position. Do you think this is a kind of match that's going to help you improve and it's important to win? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Yeah, all these wins I've had. I thought the second round helped me, and this one again. Davis Cup experience was huge for me. But I was feeling dizzy. I was feeling I real flat mentally. I just wasn't in the match at all. I was trying to see what the doctor recommended, but I just took a caffeine tablet and I tried to keep going. Q. What is it about you mentally that you were able to not only win the match but, like you said, giving away breaks, the whole thing with the challenges, there were a lot of obstacles today. You managed to keep it together. THANASI KOKKINAKIS: I think that's one of my big strengths, how I deal with things mentally in matches. I have shown I can get through a lot of tough, tight ones, even when I'm not playing my best tennis, which is a huge thing for me. Obviously the next round I will have to play better, but that's one of my strengths. Q. Can you tell us what's going through your mind the last ten days since the Davis Cup and the three wins here? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Well, after Davis Cup I was preparing to play qualifying, and I was going to really struggle if I played qualifying, because I flew in that night before qualifying started. I became really sick from Czech Republic because it was so cold there and blocked up. That was going to be a real struggle. Then Rick, my agent, sent me a message saying I got in. He sent it to me when I was flying, so that was a big relief. Luckily. I thanked the tournament director. Thanked him for getting a wildcard. Q. You looked almost cramping at the end of the third set, so can you talk about your physical condition and what kind of thoughts went through your mind at that time? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: I wasn't cramping. My face was just so hot. I went to the bathroom after the second set and looked at my face, and was it was red as a tomato. I was just trying to cool down a little bit. Yeah, I wasn't cramping. I was tired because there were some grueling rallies and the mental pressure, as well, because I felt like I should have finished the match earlier. It was more mental in the end. Q. You're one win away from breaking into top 100. What would it mean to you to get it at this age, so young in your career? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Damn it, I thought it was this one. (Laughter). That's all right. Maybe I wouldn't have put as much pressure on myself if I knew that, so thank you. But, yeah, obviously it's a big task whoever I've got in the next match. It's going to be a good thing. I can't look at it as I have to do it this match. Obviously I really want to win this next match and it would be huge for me to make a quarterfinal. I know it's going to happen. If it's not this week, it will be next week. I'm really looking forward to my next match. Q. A lot of players get through a period where they feel like that's the breakthrough when they are young. How does it feel for you? From the outside for us, looks like this might be a breakthrough. Are you feeling that? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: I was waiting for it for a long time. I thought I showed glimpses of last year. Started this year but wasn't able to quite put it together in a tournament for a few matches in a row. Yeah, I don't know if this is my breakthrough, but I've definitely got some momentum. I did it tough playing a lot of qualifying in ATP matches, which was good for me. Made me match tough and taught me how to win on the tour. It was big thing for me playing qualifying and qualifying three weeks in a row. So, yeah, I'm happy I got the wildcard and making the most of it. Q. What went through your mind after the first match point at 5‑4. Have you seen the replay of it since? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: I didn't see the replay out on court, but I got told by a friend in the locker room after the match that it was out. I used my challenge. I think it was 5‑3, 15‑30, and we played a good point, he hit it down the line, and I thought it was long and I used my last challenge there. He was out of challenges already. It was pretty funny. We both had a bit of a laugh about it, even though it was a tight situation. Now looking back I am wishing I didn't challenge that one, because when he hit it I thought it might have been in, but it might have been out. I definitely would've used a challenge on it, but, yeah, it wasn't to be. Q. You get through that aspect not having any challenges, you're probably thinking you can't believe this, and there is the not up call, which was a legitimate thing, but the call was wrong. Do you think, Well, what next? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Yeah, well, it was definitely frustrating me. I know Mohammed pretty well. He's a good guy. Obviously he made a mistake. It was tough for him to overrule that. Both of us, I heard it was not far out either. I haven't seen the replay, but I'm sure if he overruled and called it out Monaco would have had a crack at it as well, because he didn't have any challenges remaining. It was a tough ball for him, but, yeah, the two‑bounce one I think he made a mistake. I probably would have lost the point anyway, but, yeah, I definitely got there with two ‑‑ with one. Q. You're part of the future generation of Australian young tennis players. How good can you guys be? How far can you make it, you can Kyrgios? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: No one really knows. It's tough to put a ranking on it when you're this young. Obviously we have good futures, all of us. We have definitely a real positive Davis Cup team to build around in the future. Yeah, we are all real different people. We are very different, I would say, all of us, and we will keep working hard and see how good we can be. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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