"You can decide to put training around it": Alex de Minaur defends Thanasi Kokkinakis after recent criticism from Todd Woodbridge

Australia’s Alex de Minaur has also come out in defence of fellow country Thanasi Kokkinakis, who has received criticism about prioritising exhibition events before preparing for the mega-events. The 28-year-old has come under severe criticism from the former doubles world number one Todd Woodbridge.

The 53-year-old, who is often regarded as one of the greatest doubles players in the history of tennis, has recently criticised the performances of Kokkinakis, who, according to him, has not lived up to his talent. Woodbridge also questioned why Kokkinakis decided to play in exhibition events, which, according to him, does not let him prepare well for the big events.

"Scheduling is a really interesting thing with him," said Woodbridge while talking at the Wide World of Sports' The Morning Serve. "At the back end of the year he's played Challengers and then he went and played exhibition matches that he didn't need to do. Yes, the money's great and we all love putting that in our pocket and that's exactly what he did, but that schedule hurts to start the year."

In response to that, Kokkinakis, while talking to the media during the ongoing Australian Open, stated that he was only making a ‘living’ and doing nothing wrong. “That’s why he is trying to host every game show under the sun," he said while responding to Woodbridge’s comments. "We’re trying to make a living as much as he is."

De Minaur, also taking part in the Australian Open and cemented his spot in the third round, has come out in defence of Kokkinakis and suggested that participating in a ‘three-day’ exhibition event should not disrupt anyone’s preparation.

“Well, look, ultimately everyone decides their own schedule,” he said after defeating Tristan Boyer in the round of 64 the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne. “Whether you’re playing an exxo (exhibition) or not, you can decide to put training around it. I don’t think playing playing a three-day event is going to cause any sort of harm.”