Thanasi Kokkinakis overcomes sad personal split to lead Australia into Davis Cup finals
Kokkinakis secretly split with his model girlfriend after only 18 months together.
Thanasi Kokkinakis continued his fine run of recent form to help Australia secure a spot in the Davis Cup finals, winning both of his singles matches at the Davis Cup last week. His victories lifted Australia to wins over France and the Czech Republic and saw Lleyton Hewitt's team book their place in the finals in November.
The World No.78 swept past World No.25 Frenchman Arthur Fils in straight sets and backed it up with a win over Czech's Jakub Mensik. It was yet another impressive showing from the Aussie who has been in outstanding form in recent months, beating the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open and Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon.
But off the tennis court, things haven't been going so smoothly for the 28-year-old. According to reports, the Aussie tennis star split from his Melbourne model girlfriend Hannah Dal Sasso in recent weeks, after only 18 months together.
The pair spent a year and a half together, most of it being a long-distance relationship due to Kokkinakis' tennis commitments and Dal Sasso's work with her designer clothing hire company Styled by Mim. Kokkinakis and Dal Sasso first got together in early 2023 and made their public debut as a couple at the Glamour on the Grid party ahead of the F1 Grand Prix in March last year. But the couple had been struggling with spending such little time together due to their busy conflicting schedules.
Dal Sasso flagged the problem in May, telling the Herald Sun that it was challenging to maintain a long-distance relationship while Kokkinakis travelled the world. "We just had a nice month together and I already miss him – long distance is really hard," Hannah said. "Thanasi is really dedicated to his tennis and he’s putting everything into it and I’m so proud of him."
Kokkinakis and Dal Sasso were still together during the Aussie's Wimbledon run and travelled together for the US tournament season. But since then the pair have quietly gone their separate ways and have unfollowed each other on Instagram.
Thanassi Kokkinakis shining on the tennis court
But despite some tough times off the court, on it Kokkinakis has been in arguably career-best form. And his recent performances have seen him favoured by Australia's Davis Cup coach Lleyton Hewitt over World No.29 Jordan Thompson.
Kokkinakis was entrusted in the difficult No.2 singles spot for the opening Davis Cup ties against France and the Czech Republic. On Sunday night, Thompson played the final dead-rubber singles match against Spain instead of Kokkinakis, where Thompson went down 6-2 2-6 6-7 (3-7) to veteran World No.207 Pablo Carreno Busta.
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Hewitt has shown time and time again that he's loyal to players who've got the job done before and Kokkinakis has a brilliant Davis Cup record. So instead of the in-form Thompson, who recently cracked the men's top 30 and won the US Open doubles title alongside Max Purcell, Hewitt went with Kokkinakis instead.
And after clinching another Davis Cup victory over the Czech team last week, Kokkinakis said the fact he was selected over his other fit Australian counterparts showed the enormous faith Hewitt has in him. "I wasn't sure if I'd get the call-up, but I'd been training well. So to step up and put two points on the board for us is massive," said Kokkinakis.
"And big ups to Lleyton for trusting me and giving me the run when all of us could have played. I think that's the beauty of tennis in Australia right now. We're all having great years."
Lleyton Hewitt praises Aussie Davis Cup team
Lleyton Hewitt says he is proud of his "banged-up" but brave Australia team for battling through a "ridiculous" schedule after they secured their spot in the Davis Cup finals. Hewitt - long an outspoken critic of the revamped Cup - launched another attack on the format in Valencia on Sunday after his side ended their otherwise successful qualifying campaign with a 2-1 defeat to hosts Spain.
The result was irrelevant considering both teams had already booked their spot in the finals in Malaga in November. And after the final match, Hewitt applauded his Aussie contingent for coming from the US Open 6000km away to compete for their country.
Purcell had had to play through an injury in Valencia, while Kokkinakis and Thompson both raced over from the US after gruelling grand slam campaigns. "We've had a few guys this week pretty banged up - and it's only really our locker room knows that," Hewitt said.
"It would have been very easy for a few of my boys to not turn up this week, but they've come and they put on the green and gold and done absolutely everything I've asked of them. I'm super proud.
"To try and ask players to play the second day after a grand slam finishes, it's not easy," said Hewitt. In the old (weekend only) format, I used to have to do it, but you'd at least have until the Friday before you had to play. Now to play on Tuesday, it's ridiculous."
with agencies
