TENNIS – ATP WORLD TOUR – THANASI’S TRAVEL WOES: MCDONALD’S SLEEPOVER

Written by: Staff on 8th May 2015

TENNIS - ATP WORLD TOUR - THANASI'S TRAVEL WOES: MCDONALD'S SLEEPOVER

epa04665419 Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia in action against Juan Monaco of Argentina during their third round match at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 16 March 2015. EPA/PAUL BUCK |

Flying around the world for tournaments, tennis players often deal with issues related to travel.

“I have lost things like my wallet, but this has been most inconvenient,” Thanasi Kokkinakis told ATPWorldTour.com on Thursday.

The Aussie was attempting to fly from Madrid to Rome for the upcoming Internazionali Bnl D’Italia, which begins 10 May, when an unexpected fire at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport caused a multitude of flight cancellations and delays.

“When we got to the airport, they told us to come back 10 hours later for the later flight at 7:30, then when we got here they told us it was cancelled,” said Kokkinakis. “[They] said there is no guarantee we can get you on a flight to Rome in the next two to three days, so we have to play a tournament in France.”

Forced to spend the night at the airport, the Aussie tweeted: “Spending the night in a 24hrs McDonald’s Madrid airport. The hustle is real #RomeNoBueno.”

Kokkinakis advanced through qualifying in Madrid before losing in the first round (l. to Querrey). He was hoping to qualify for his second straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Rome before travel troubles forced him to enter qualifying at an ATP World Tour Challenger event instead.

“I would be there too late, [so I’m] going to Bordeaux and I’m going to have to play qualies now,” he said.

Kokkinakis’ compatriot, James Duckworth, was also suffering from travel troubles.

“I have been stuck waiting at [London] Gatwick airport all day,” he said. “I have had three flights cancelled on me, and I haven’t been able to get on a flight with any other airlines. I am pulling out of Rome and going to play qualies in Bordeaux. I’m pretty shattered as I really like playing in Italy and I had been working hard to have a crack at my first Masters 1000 on clay.”

Despite the unexpected issues, young gun Kokkinakis seemed to make the most of his extra time at the Madrid airport, and had a little fun too!

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://m.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2015/05/18/Madrid-Rome-Travel-Troubles.aspx )

Editors note : 10sBalls_com has had Craig Cignarelli stuck traveling too. He was flying into Rome but got diverted to London. He spent the night in some ” no tell motel ” and hopes to get to Rome today. Tennis players travel almost all year and this is a nightmare that rarely gets told. Lost baggage. No rackets. No shoes or tennis gear. No sleep. Cancelled flights. Long delays. The life of a professional tennis player is really not all glamour. Thank you ATP for sharing this saga.

Topics: Atp World Tour, James Duckworth, Sports, Tennis News, Thanasi Kokkinakis

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10sBalls_com says:

May 8, 2015 at 11:05 am

#TENNIS – @ATPWorldTour – @TKokkinakis’s TRAVEL WOES: MCDONALD’S SLEEPOVER- http://t.co/4YyVOwJYKN #Kokkinakis #ATPTennis