Injuries have left part of my body deformed, says Thanasi Kokkinakis

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Thanasi Kokkinakis has opened up in an interview as quoted by 7 News about the multiple injuries he has suffered in his career. The Australian player admitted he has been going through an extremely difficult path. "I don't know how I haven't lost the plot completely.

I guess because I know what my tennis can do, which has kept me ticking along a little bit. I know that hopefully when I get a clean run at it for an extended period of time, I can do some good things. That's what's kept me motivated," said Kokkinakis, who is competing in the US Open through a wild card.

He will open his campaign against Ilya Ivashka and he would face the 18-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, or John Millman in the second round. "I was in a truly rough place mentally after the shoulder surgery," Kokkinakis admitted, recognizing that the many injuries have left part of his body deformed.

That was the lowest of the lows for me. So I felt like if I could get through that period I was in, some of these injuries - as bad as they seem, three months apiece - then all this stuff is easy for me." He concluded: "My dad always wants me to pick up a subject at university and I think if a few more injuries come, that might be a path I'll go down.

But I'm young at the moment, so I've still got a bit of a window and I feel like I've missed the first part of my career a little bit. I started when I was young, so I'm going to give tennis a crack for as long as I can."