Thanasi Kokkinakis will play Andy Murray in the second round of the Australian Open 2023 on Thursday.
Kokkinakis had a comfortable start to the tournament, earning a straight-sets win in the first round. He will look to take inspiration from that and deliver his best in the upcoming challenge to continue his Grand Slam dream.
Murray on the other hand had to fight hard to make it to this round, and his main focus will be to take the positives from his battling effort. The Scot will be cautious coming into the match but will look to use all of his experience to get a result in his favor.
Kokkinakis vs Murray Australian Open Odds
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Kokkinakis vs Murray Australian Open Match Details
Fixture: Kokkinakis vs Murray
Date & Time: Thursday, January 19, 2023, 4:30 am EDT
Venue: Margaret Court Arena (Melbourne), Australia
Kokkinakis vs Murray Key Stats
Kokkinakis started his professional journey in 2013 and has played over 100 matches in his career, with a win-loss record of 50-66. He has been inconsistent with his play though, which is reflected in his results and ranking.
Currently ranked in the 150s in the ATP rankings, he will be focused on doing well this year and make it to the top 100.
Murray, on the other hand, is a big name in the tennis circuit, having started his professional journey in the year 2005. He has played over 1000 matches and has an astonishing win-loss record of 717- 234.
Having played for nearly two decades, Murray has 46 singles titles to his name, though has been hit hard by injuries. Of late the 35-year-old hasn't played a lot of big tournaments regularly due to fitness issues, but he had a fairly strong 2022.
Kokkinakis vs Murray Australian Open Betting Prediction
The matchup is very interesting, with the last encounter between the two being in 2015 when Murray cruised past in straight sets. The two players have had very different journeys since then and fitness struggles have put a big dent in Murray's results, while Kokkinakis has improved a lot.
But there is no substitute for experience, and that is in Murray's favor. The match could stretch long due to the quality of the two players, but having recovered well, Murray is likely to bring his best and win this one.
Prediction: Murray, +2.5(-117)
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