Kokkinakis broke records at the Davis Cup, with his marathon tie-break win over Ben Shelton, which helped send his side to the semi-finals.

It was another big win for the Australian, as Kokkinakis had beaten Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier this year at the US Open.

Austrian Dominic Thiem retired from tennis earlier this year, having struggled with several big injuries in recent years.

Thiem won the 2020 US Open, but never returned to the latter stages of Grand Slam tournaments as his body let him down.

Contrasting years for the pair, who have now looked back at their experiences playing against one of the ATP Tour’s most enigmatic players.

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Dominic Thiem on how ‘different breed’ Bernard Tomic would react to defeat

Speaking on the UTS Talk Show, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Dominic Thiem recalled how Bernard Tomic would react to losing to them on the ATP Tour.

“I was playing against Bernie [Tomic] in Acapulco finals and it was a really good, tense match,” said Thiem.

“Like two and a half hours and 6-4 in the third.

“It was a really fired-up match but completely fair and the guy was really happy.

“For me it was unbelievable.

“If I lost I would have been [angry] with myself or something, but he was super happy.

“He was like I’m so happy for you, everything is amazing.”

Kokkinakis also remembered a funny moment he shared with Tomic after a match.

“He’s a different breed,” he said.

“I had a couple of battles with him.

“We were playing US Open qualies, second round, I ended up winning in three sets.

“He comes in and was like ‘Bro, I did alright hey? I did alright, I did five or six days partying in Miami, barely sleeping, and I did so much drinking, I did well! You deserved it but it was pretty close’.

“I was like I don’t even know what to say to this guy.”

Kokkinakis went on to explain just how good his fellow Australian could be.

“He’s so talented,” he said.

“For me he is one of the most talented guys ever.

“I couldn’t believe it.

“Not fast but he could read the ball, what he could do with a racket, I haven’t seen anyone be able to do it.”

What happened to Bernard Tomic?

Once one of the top young prospects on the ATP Tour, Tomic has endured one of the more drastic falls from grace we’ve seen in recent years.

The Australian reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2011, and looked to have the world at his feet, but has failed to make it to the last eight of a Major since, as fans are now left asking what could’ve been.

In the past three years, Tomic hasn’t played a single ATP main draw match, instead taking part on the ITF and Challenger Tours.

A stark contrast from the form we saw between 2013 and 2018, when Tomic won four ATP titles, breaking into the world’s top 20.

A lack of effort is often cited as the primary cause of the Australian’s downfall, with Tomic’s 39-minute loss in a Challenger tour final earlier this year, heavily criticized.

Tomic will hope to bounce back in 2025, with his season likely to begin in his native Australia.

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