Dressed in all black, Thanasi Kokkinaki eased past Kwon Soon-Woo, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 on Day 2 at the Australian Open. With a ranking of No. 267 the Australian needed a wild card just to play his home Slam, and he was certainly amped up to be making the most of it.
It's his first win in Melbourne since 2015.
"Yeah, first of all, been a while, feels very good," he told press. "Yeah, massive relief. Just happy to get in front of the crowd again and play on that court. It was a great experience. Had a lot of friends and family there watching. They probably made up about 90 percent of the stands, so appreciative of that."
A talented prospect from a young age, Kokkinakis has been hit by tough injuries over the past few years, missing the entire 2016 season and most of 2017. As the 24-year-old makes yet another comeback, he's without a clothing sponsor and his outfit got some questions.
"It's a K-Mart special," he said. "Went to Chadstone [shopping center], bought some $6 tees and went to work. I just felt comfortable in it. I've tried to order some more online but they got canceled and they didn't make it through to South Yarra.
"It's tough out here, man. It's not what it used to be. That's all right, blue collar way."
Kokkinakis, a former world No. 61, used to be sponsored by Nike. His win over Kwon was so smooth that it caught the attention of Roger Federer, a player he beat at the Miami Open in 2018.