Next Gen stars Kokkinakis, Ofner take different routes

Across either side of the Atlantic Ocean, two players were enjoying firsts in their burgeoning professional careers.

Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Taylor Fritz 7-6(5) 6-2 on Thursday night to advance to the semifinals of the ATP Los Cabos tournament, the deepest he’s ever progressed at a tour-level event.

Earlier that day, on home soil in Kitzbuhel, Austria, Sebastien Ofner reached his first ATP semifinal with a 6-3 1-6 6-3 win over Renzo Olivo.

Both are 21, and part of the ATP’s exciting Next Gen group.

But that’s perhaps were the similarities end.

Kokkinakis, a big-hitting Australian, was considered a superstar of the future from the get-go, reaching the Australian Open junior final in 2013 and winning his first tour-level match at the same tournament just 12 months later at age 17.

FEATURES: why we love Thanasi Kokkinakis

Ofner, on the hand, was virtually unknown until this year, when he stormed to the third round at Wimbledon as a qualifier ranked 217th.

It was the first Grand Slam event he’d ever contested.

Kitzbuhel, similarly, is the first time Ofner has found himself in an ATP main draw. Having risen to world No.157, he stands to rise even higher after reaching the last four at the claycourt tournament.

“It really feels great to reach the first semifinal. I am really happy. I briefly lost my focus in the second set, but overall I played a good match,” said Ofner, who is coached by Dominic Thiem’s father Wolfgang.

“The atmosphere was fantastic and it is simply a wonderful feeling.”

Wildcard Sebastian Ofner was a surprise 6-3 2-6 7-6(3) winner over top seed Pablo Cuevas in Kitzbuhel. Photo: Getty Images

As the Austrian continues to shoot up the rankings in his breakout season, he’s now far ahead of Kokkinakis, a former world No.69 who now languishes outside the top 450 after a horror run with injury.

Beginning October 2015, the South Australian endured 19 months on the sidelines as the result of shoulder surgery and an assortment of other injuries.

He only returned to the singles court in May; Los Cabos is the sixth event of his comeback.

VIDEO: “for sure I was depressed,” says Kokkinakis

His second-round victory over Peter Polansky offered up a number of milestones, such as it being the first time he’d won back-to-back matches since Roland Garros in 2015 and the first time he’d ever advanced to an ATP quarterfinal.

“This week has been great,” he told atpworldtour.com.

“I obviously got through a couple of tough matches in the first two rounds, which is good to get through for the confidence, then I think I played my best match of the week today. It was neck and neck in the first set, but I was able to hang tough in the tie-break, then I opened up in the second set, got on top of him and was able to play a little more freely.”

On Friday, Kokkinakis and Ofner will shoot for even greater glory when they battle Tomas Berdych and Joao Sousa, respectively, for a shot at their first ATP finals.

Suddenly, their career trajectories are looking a little more similar.