Local hero Thanasi Kokkinakis has crashed out of his hometown Adelaide International after suffering a first-round loss to Serbian party-crasher Dusan Lajovic.

Lajovic overcame an indifferent start to elevate his play as the night wore on and leave the Memorial Drive crowd disappointed after winning 3-6 6-1 6-4.

The defeat means Kokkinakis will enter the Australian Open winless since last October. He subsequently missed the Davis Cup Finals with an ankle injury before suffering an opening-round loss to countryman Rinky Hijikita on his return in Brisbane last week.

Kokkinakis announced himself with his thrilling, emotional ride to the 2022 title here as a wildcard, which included a dramatic final-set tiebreak to beat Marin Cilic in the semifinals, but his dreams of replicating that feat ended on Monday, Lajovic’s superior consistency from the back of the court telling.

“I thought I came out pretty well, (and) played a good (first) set of tennis … didn’t do much wrong,” Kokkinakis said.

“I lost a little bit of focus at the start of the second.

“I would have loved to have done better here but I’m not quite where I need to be.”

Kokkinakis played with authority early, his first serve virtually impenetrable in the opening set before Lajovic eventually figured it out.

The South Australian unleashed a thunderous return to secure the first break of the match and take a 3-1 lead before impressively taking the opening set when the Serb pushed a backhand long.

But the experienced Lajovic, who stunned legendary compatriot Novak Djokovic on the Bosnian clay last year, was not going to be a pushover.

Kokkinakis became error-riddled in the second set, seemingly troubled by the softness of the balls and he was made to pay by Lajovic.

He compared the balls to “lemons” and felt that they neutralised his powerful serve and were the softest he had encountered outside last year’s Cincinnati Masters.

“I remember here usually being a lot quicker,” he said.

“(Serving only) four aces is not something I’m used to, especially on a fairly quick playing surface.

“When the balls get super slow it feels like there’s a ton of time on return.

“They’re a lot slower than (anywhere) last year in general for the most part, maybe barring Cincinnati.

“He (Lajovic) was rolling them on his sweat to try to speed them up a bit.

“The balls, after a few rallies, get super slow and they turn into lemons.

“It makes it tough, especially when it’s colder, to get much power on the ball.”

While clearly frustrated by the balls, Kokkinakis felt the match was lost on his own racquet, notably during the match-turning second set.

Despite the Greek-Aussie’s loss leaving a sour note on the festivities, the Adelaide International 2024 is off to a record-smashing start, as tickets snapped up for the Kids’ Day – and day one of the tournament having surpasses last year.

More than 4,400 tickets had been secured to the Kids’ Day and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Zoe Bettison called it a “smashing start.”

“The Adelaide International is off to a smashing start, with a record Kids’ Day attendance and an expanded footprint taking over Pinky Flat growing the festival of tennis,” she said in a media release.

She said it’s not only about world-class tennis but about encouraging families to spend the day together with lots of free activities.

“With plenty of action on and off the court, we want as many tennis fans and event goers to head to The Drive and get up close to some of the world’s best players right here in their own backyard.

“The Adelaide International is another blockbuster on our state’s events calendar, bringing visitors into the city and showcasing our state-of-the-art facilities right around the world – with the Santos Tour Down Under set to continue this momentum later this week.”

With AAP*