Jan 14 (Reuters) - Thanasi Kokkinakis' emotional return to tennis ended in heartbreak on Wednesday when the Australian was forced to withdraw from his beloved Adelaide International, admitting his shoulder simply was not ready after nearly a year on the sidelines.
The 29-year-old had battled through a gruelling three-set victory over American Sebastian Korda in the previous round, but the cost proved too high for a body still recovering from pectoral surgery in February.
"Very sad to have to pull out of my favourite event," Kokkinakis wrote on Instagram. "Unfortunately my arm isn’t quite ready yet after missing a year off."
"The support is always incredible and love playing here. See you next year."
The withdrawal was particularly painful given Adelaide's special place in Kokkinakis' heart, as he revealed he had only played the opening match because it was his hometown tournament.
He had hoped for the anti-inflammatories to "work some wonders" before facing his next opponent but his withdrawal hands Monaco's Valentin Vacherot a free pass to the quarter-finals.
The injury saga dates back to last year's Australian Open, where Kokkinakis aggravated the problem during a five-set second-round loss to Jack Draper - his last competitive singles match before the Adelaide tournament.
The injury throws his Australian Open participation in doubt, with the year's first Grand Slam starting on Sunday.
Due to his injury layoff, Kokkinakis has a protected ranking for the Australian Open, where he is also due to play in the doubles with compatriot Nick Kyrgios.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
