Thanasi Kokkinakis has been soundly beaten on his Laver Cup debut in Berlin as the Australian giant killer sought to repeat his shock US Open triumph over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Kokkinakis, seeking to kick off his 'Team World' career in the tennis invitation event in style, went into his singles rubber against Tsitsipas with high hopes on Friday, having beaten the jaded Team Europe star in the first round at Flushing Meadows three weeks ago.
But Tsitsipas, who had complained of burn-out and lack of drive after his four-set defeat to the much lower ranked Kokkinakis in New York, seemed to have been rejuvenated by the more relaxed team competition atmosphere in Berlin as he outplayed the Adelaide man 6-1 6-4.
