Australian tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis' Australian Open singles bid has been dashed by a right shoulder injury, prompting his withdrawal from the Adelaide International. Kokkinakis, recovering from a groundbreaking pectoral reattachment surgery, including an Achilles tendon graft, faced renewed shoulder pain during his emotional three-set triumph over Seb Korda on Monday night, leading to his withdrawal before the second round on Wednesday. Kokkinakis is set to play doubles at the Australian Open with Nick Kyrgios, who is also not ready for the singles draw. Meanwhile, former world No.17 Bernard Tomic's singles qualifying bid ended in a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Arthur Fery in 68 minutes. Countryman Dane Sweeny, ranked No.182, is one victory away from qualifying for his home major for the second time in three years. Australian doubles specialist Storm Hunter also advanced to the final round qualifying after eliminating Lola Radivojevic. However, James McCabe, who qualified for Wimbledon last year, lost to Nicolai Budkov Kjaer in a hard-fought battle. Australian tennis great Pat Cash rates Alex de Minaur as a strong contender for the Australian Open final, comparing him to triple grand slam runner-up Casper Ruud. De Minaur, who dreams of winning his home grand slam and ending Australia's 50-year title drought, is excited to play in front of his home crowd and is handling the pressure well.
