Thanasi Kokkinakis has warned defending champion Roger Federer ahead of their Miami Open encounter as the talented Australian is confident of causing a big upset in Key Biscayne on Saturday.
Kokkinakis, who has never faced the 20-time Grand Slam champion in the past, but, has trained with the Swiss great on two occasions as Federer had invited him to train with him at the end of 2014 and yet again last year.
“[I know] everything about him so if I lose it’s completely on me,” Kokkinakis told the atpworldtour.com. “Yeah, I’m sure he doesn’t show everything on the practice court. But I’ve seen what I can and I’m going to go out there and have a crack.”
“One of the guys asked me, ‘What’s my goal in the match?’ I don’t think it changes from match to match. You go there to win. You’re not going to go there, thinking, ‘I hope I get a few games.’ That’s just not the attitude you need,” Kokkinakis said.
“I think if I serve well and play well, I can have a good crack, but obviously playing Roger is tough. I think the majority of the crowd will be supporting him, which is not too much of a surprise. But it is what it is. If I play well, I think I can do some good things.”
The 21-year-old, who has battled a string of injuries during his short career, is fully fit in some years and that’s why he feels that he has a genuine chance of causing some damage against Federer.
“I’ve had a lot of ongoing things but this is the best my body has felt [since 2015] – touch wood – so I’m just going to see how it goes and stay positive and not get too worked up and keep working hard and see where I go,” he said. “It feels good to be back and the big one for me is just staying healthy and staying positive.
“I think I’m a lot better player than I was in 2015; for me, it’s just showing that and staying on the court.”
