French Open 2024: Alexei Popyrin vs Thanasi Kokkinakis; Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction

Aussies on Clay! It’s time for an all-Australian showdown in Paris. Pop takes on Kokk in the first round of the 2024 French Open. 9 Aussies will contest the men’s singles at the French Open this year. This is in fact the most in terms of the number of participants since 1999. Both Alexei Popyrin and Thanasi Kokkinakis had a mix of good and bad in this season so far. Popyrin’s best performance this year came at the Qatar Open where he reached the semis.

Kokkinakis has already won a Challengers event in Sarasota earlier this year. Apart from that, he has also reached the QF of three of his previous tournaments this year. Both of them are looking forward to a winning start at the French Open. However, there is going to be only one winner out of this thrilling encounter. Who will it be?

Alexei Popyrin vs Thanasi Kokkinakis: Preview

Alexei Popyrin was last seen in action at the Italian Open. He faced an early exit from Rome at the hands of the 20-year-old Serbian tennis player, Hamad Medjedovic. The Serb defeated the Aussie tennis star comfortably by a 6-3,6-2 scoreline. However, Popyrin managed to hit nine aces and committed two double faults in that match. Both of his first and second-serve win percentages were 62%. Alexei Popyrin failed to convert his single breakpoint in the match against Medjedovic.

The 24-year-old Aussie tennis player has hammered 140 aces so far this season and has committed just 39 double faults. He has in fact won 85% of his service games compared to just 17% of his return games this year. Can he improve his numbers with a stellar performance against his compatriot on Tuesday (May 28)?

Thanasi Kokkinakis was defeated in his previous match at the Challenger Bordeaux, FR by the Frenchman Arthur Fils. Fils defeated the Aussie by a 7-6(2),6-3 margin in the QF of that Challenger event. Kokkinakis hit seven aces and committed just two double faults in the entire match. His first-serve win percentage was 62%, but it crept up to 68% on the second-serve. However, Thanasi Kokkinakis could only manage to convert one out of his eleven breakpoints against Fils.

He has hit a total of 126 aces so far this season and has committed 32 double faults. The 28-year-old tennis star has won 80% of his service games and 11% of his return games. Both of them are quite close when it comes to their stats from this year, but who’s leading the H2H?

Popyrin vs Kokkinakis: Head-to-Head

Both of them have met each other twice in their careers so far. Thanasi Kokkinakis currently leads the H2H with a 2-0 margin. He defeated Alexei Popyrin in their first encounter at the 2023 Adelaide International 2 by 6-0,7-6(5),7-5. In that match, both Kokkinakis and Popyrin hammered eleven aces, but the former committed just two double faults while the latter committed eight double faults in that match. Kokk won 74% of his first serve in that match and 58% of his second serve while Pop won 80% of his first serve and just 45% of his second serve.

Alexei Popyrin converted just one out of his six breakpoints, but Thanasi Kokkinakis managed to convert five of his nine breakpoints in that match. Even in the next meeting at the Challenger event in Manama, Kokkinakis showcased a dominating performance over his compatriot. He defeated Popyrin by 6-3,7-5. Can the 2017 Roland Garros boys’ singles champion pull one back in their next meeting in Paris?

Prediction: Popyrin to win this all-Aussie battle

It’s only the second time in the past twenty-two years that the two Aussie men have crossed paths with each other at the first-round singles match in Paris. Both of them are good friends off the court and in fact, they have practiced a lot together. So, they know their strengths and weaknesses pretty well and this is what makes this matchup trickier.

Thanasi Kokkinakis’ best record at the French Open is reaching the third round in the 2015 and 2023 season. Alexei Popyrin’s best results came in 2019 when he reached the second round of this iconic clay court event. Both of them love to showcase an aggressive brand of tennis. Popyrin has a pretty good forehand and his volleys are very solid and penetrating as well. Sometimes, Pop also comes up with an exquisite drop shot. While Kokk loves to out-power his opponent with his fiery shots. Even he has a big first serve and a sensational forehand.

However, it’s the current form that is keeping Pop slightly ahead of Kokk this time around. Alexei Popyrin has a win-loss record of 9-8 this season Thanasi Kokkinakis has a record of 4-9 this season. So, number 51, over the number 100 in Paris!