DC QF Kukushkin d. Kokkinakis 6-4 6-3 6-3 (KAZ-1 AUS-0)
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Kokk was a bit limp out there today
Australia's hopes all lie with Kyrgios. Again.
Australia's hopes all lie with Kyrgios. Again.
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Kukushkin in dreadful form all year but whenever there is a DC match he peaks out of nowhere. After his 2 3-0 wins against Seppi and Bolelli in March he delivers again in Australia with another straight sets win 
As usual in DC he was in the zone controlling the rallies with powerful shots and never looked in danger. A total domination and the score could've looked much worse if Kokkinakis had a bad serving day.
As usual in DC he was in the zone controlling the rallies with powerful shots and never looked in danger. A total domination and the score could've looked much worse if Kokkinakis had a bad serving day.
Nothing special from Kukushkin, just solid grass court fundamentals.
Thanasi on the other hand, has a game which is ill-suited to grass court tennis.
With his top spin obsession, he tries to make the ball bounce high instead of seeking the advantage of making the ball skid through low.
He takes an eternity to wind up his shots instead of going with short back swings.
He tries to slide on grass instead of being nimble footed on the surface.
He stands 3 metres behind the baseline like it's a clay court where moonballing is the order of the day.
He takes no advantage of the only part of his game which is amenable to grass court tennis - his serve - to back it up with a volley.
Thanasi on the other hand, has a game which is ill-suited to grass court tennis.
With his top spin obsession, he tries to make the ball bounce high instead of seeking the advantage of making the ball skid through low.
He takes an eternity to wind up his shots instead of going with short back swings.
He tries to slide on grass instead of being nimble footed on the surface.
He stands 3 metres behind the baseline like it's a clay court where moonballing is the order of the day.
He takes no advantage of the only part of his game which is amenable to grass court tennis - his serve - to back it up with a volley.
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Borat land peaks for Davis Cup.
Disagree - his game works fine on normal modern grass court.
But this isn't that and didn't adapt tactics enough against peaking Kukushkin.
Have to admit that Groth's s&v probably would have been a better choice on this old style of court.
Interesting to hear Masur acknowledge that grass probably not the best choice for Oz any more though, as Kokk (and Tomic irrelevant as he now is!), possibly even Kyrgios are actually better on hard.
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Agree with this. I think Groth was originally one of the singles rubber players.
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Choosing Kokk on grass over Hewitt or Groth imparticular :spit: :lol: What were they thinking?
Probably that Hewitt is well and truly past it and Groth has a tendency to choke, having managed to lose each of his two dc matches to date.
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kokk :facepalm: what a loss...
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Hewitt would have given Kukushkin a much better match than this, Groth with his serve and volleying would have troubled Kuku. I just don't understand choosing Kokk for this match personally.
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Looks like Kokk just didn't have the balls today.
His results on all sorts of grass haven't been much to write home about though.
You can say that it's down to external factors that he got convincingly beat at Queens and Wimbledon, but I think his game struggles on the surface.
Hewitt definitely would have given it a better shake. If nothing else he would have made Kukushkin earn it.
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What a tie this is
2 Russians beating 2 Greeks
2 Russians beating 2 Greeks
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Groth should have been given this match after his Wimbledon, I said that before this match.
Kokk should have been in doubles with Hewitt (again because of Wimbledon) and maybe reverse singles if Kyrgios/Groth were in a terrible headspace (like Kyrgios is)
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Kokk should have been in doubles with Hewitt (again because of Wimbledon) and maybe reverse singles if Kyrgios/Groth were in a terrible headspace (like Kyrgios is)
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