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Adelaide’s Kokkinakis named for Rio

Injured South Australian tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis will join John Millman to lead Australia’s men’s tennis team at the Rio Olympics, along with women’s stars Samantha Stosur and Daria Gavrilova.

Jul 01, 2016, updated Jul 01, 2016
Sidelined Thanasi Kokkinakis watching Nick Kyrgios play in the Australian Open in January. Photo: Julian Smith, AAP.

Sidelined Thanasi Kokkinakis watching Nick Kyrgios play in the Australian Open in January. Photo: Julian Smith, AAP.

Millman celebrated his Olympic call-up by charging into a glittering Wimbledon third-round clash with second seed Andy Murray, learning of his Games selection shortly before taking the court for his impressive 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 4-6 6-2 second-round upset of 26th seed Benoit Paire overnight.

“It means the world to me to be able to represent my country at the Games,” Millman said.

“I’m buzzing for that, and then to be able to go out there and put together a pretty good performance out there was awesome.

“I live to fight another day here at Wimbledon.”

World No.67 Millman and Kokkinakis have been entrusted with the men’s singles spots following the withdrawals of top-20 pair Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic.

The Adelaide 20-year-old’s selection is a surprise, given he has been recovering from shoulder surgery and has not played since late last year. In March, he effectively ruled himself out of Rio contention after a recovery setback, saying: “The most disappointing thing is that I’ll miss the chance to have a crack at the Olympics. I was really looking forward to that.”

Doubles pair John Peers and Chris Guccione will also be on the plane for the Games, which start in August, while Stosur and Gavrilova will play both doubles and singles.

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