MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 27: Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia comes to the nest against Denis Kudla during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 27, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
World No. 94 Thanasi Kokkinakis takes on Japanese veteran Yuichi Sugita in the qualifiers of the 2023 Indian Wells on Monday.
The 26-year-old began the season by playing in the Adelaide International 1 where he defeated Maxime Cressy in the first round. In the second round, Kokkinakis lost to Jannik Sinner. Kokkinakis followed it up with a run to the semis of the Adelaide International 2. He picked up hard-fought wins against Alexei Popyrin, Andrey Rublev, and Miomir Kecmanovic. The Australian Open followed where Kokkinakis was ousted in the second round by Andy Murray. Kokkinakis went on to win the Challenger tournament in Manama.
In the Dubai Tennis Championships, Kokkinakis defeated Quentin Halys in the first round before going down to Borna Coric in the following round.
The experienced campaigner has not played much tennis this season. In fact, Sugita has played in just two tournaments.
He lost to Emilio Nava in the second round of qualifying of the Australian Open. Sugita lost to Luciano Darderi in the second round of qualifying of the Mexican Open. He will have his task cut out against Kokkinakis, who has played some fine tennis this season.
Yuichi Sugita has a 1-0 lead against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the head-to-head scoreline. The former defeated the Australian player 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in the qualifiers of the 2021 US Open.
Prediction: Thanasi Kokkinakis to win in straight sets.
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