World No 159 has endured his own lengthy list of injuries but is looking forward to taking on the Scot at the Australian Open
Years ago, before Thanasi Kokkinakis first met Andy Murray, he formed a preconceived idea about the Scottish player’s temperament. “I remember watching him when I was younger thinking: ‘This dude looks moody as hell, he looks miserable,’” Kokkinakis says. “Then, when you got to know him, he is actually a ripper bloke and a good guy. I’ll put all that aside and give it a crack tomorrow.”
Thursday’s second-round encounter at Melbourne Park will be a meeting of colleagues who very well could be friends. They know each other not through on-court battles – they have played each other just once, a straight-sets win for Murray at the 2015 Davis Cup – but through the guidance the younger has received from the elder. Most recently, that came in the form of some coaching in the lead-up to the US Open.