Picture Credit: Twitter

Picture Credit: Twitter

Australian tennis player Thanasi Kokkinakis has said that his compatriot Nick Kr ygios serves better than Serbian Novak Djokovic. Kokkinakis’ statement came after he lost to Krygios in the first round of the US Open. The Australian, playing for the fourth time at Flushing Meadows, lost in straight sets to Kyrgios in the pair's first singles meeting on tour. Notably, the two Australians will pair up to compete in doubles this week. 

Kokkinakis made the statement at the press conference after losing the match to Krygios. While he praised his compatriot for his better serve, Kokkinakis also admitted that Djokovic has the best-ever return. Notably, the 26-year-old lost to eventual winner Novak Djokovic in the second round of Wimbledon this year. 

"They're just different. Nick obviously serves a lot better than Novak. Novak returns the best in the business, maybe the best ever. A different sort of game style,” said Kokkinakis. He further heaped praise on his doubles’ partner for playing with freedom. "Nick is probably playing with the most freedom I've ever seen from the back of the court," said Kokkinakis. "It puts a lot of pressure on your serve and groundies. If you don't serve as well as you need to, he's going to play."

Meanwhile, Krygios found the match between the two ‘uncomfortable’. The 27-year-old Australian said that facing his good friend and doubles partner made for an 'uncomfortable' match, as the two players are familiar with each other's game. Krygios further said that he tried to avoid eye contact with Kokkinakis and focused only on the ball. 

"Probably one of the most uncomfortable matches I've played in my career. I feel like we both had a game plan," said Kyrgios. "We know our games so well. From the get-go, I was trying to block out his body and just play the tennis ball. I was really trying not to look at him at all. I felt like that kind of helped me."