Kokkinakis won the Adelaide title four years ago.
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He said he would stay away from the courts on Tuesday, seek medical opinions and take “the strongest painkillers” to try and play again on Wednesday. Not being able to back up from matches due to injury is a problem that has plagued Kokkinakis throughout his career.
“I’ll be put on ice tomorrow … [but] hopefully I can come again on this court and give it a crack,” he said.
A protected ranking means Kokkinakis can feature at next week’s Australian Open, but he told this masthead pre-tournament that there was no guarantee he would play.
The first signs of trouble appeared after the second point of the third game in the second set, when Kokkinakis grimaced and grabbed at his right shoulder. He held serve for a 3-0 lead, but immediately called the trainer and underwent a medical timeout.
Kokkinakis could be heard discussing with the trainer what was going on, and wondered aloud whether fatigue or tension might be to blame for his shoulder issue.
Kokkinakis took a medical timeout midway through the second set.Credit: Getty Images
The trainer came out twice more to massage the Australian’s right shoulder, and he continued to show signs of distress, including after firing an ace to level the contest at a set-all.
Kokkinakis has been open about him not knowing yet if the surgery would solve the pectoral problems he has dealt with since first hurting the area in the final round of qualifying at the 2019 Australian Open. But he opted for the tennis-first operation in a desperate attempt to revive his career.
“If someone recommended me not to do it, I just blacklisted them,” Kokkinakis told this masthead.
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“I was fine with retiring rather than keeping on doing what I was doing. I couldn’t back up matches, and was losing hope. I want to lose because people beat me at tennis. If that happens, fine. But if I lose because I can’t serve, which is my strength, then I’m cooked.”
Kokkinakis said he generally woke up with stiffness in his surgically repaired shoulder joint after tennis-related activity, but that he had not experienced any pain in his right pectoral muscle since the operation.
He played doubles only in Brisbane last week with Nick Kyrgios, and choked back tears after they won their first-round match.
