Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis scored a big upset win over Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas in a marathon four-hour clash in the first round at the US Open.
As Tsitsipas experienced more turbulence since splitting with his father as coach, the Australian took full advantage to win 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the second round.
Amid plenty of support from the New York crowd who cheered on the underdog against the No.11 seed, Kokkinakis hammered 17 aces to score the biggest win of his grand slam career.
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“Incredible. You guys (the crowd) were unbelievable. He’s 11 in the world and I felt all the support,” Kokkinakis said.
“Four hours in extreme heat against one of the best players in the world.
“Hell of a player. I had a five-set battle with him a couple years ago at the Australian Open. I was expecting a war. It was physical out there.
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“I have a tendency to sometimes drag these matches on. I tried to stay focused and stay the course. I tried to play every point.
“I had a lot of tight losses when I’ve been in winning positions. That was just all relief and mental I would say. I’m super excited.”
Despite making the US Open boys final in his junior days, Kokkinakis has experienced limited success at senior level, with the victory over Tsitsipas just his second ever in New York and his first since 2019 due to several injury plagued seasons.
After taking the first set and then going down in the second, Kokkinakis received treatment to his thigh in the third set, which seemed to give him more of an edge as the match wore on.
Kokkinakis next faces unseeded Nuno Borges.
He was not the only Australian to progress to the second round at Flushing Meadows. Alex de Minaur qualified with a four-set win over Marcos Giron, while Jordan Thompson defeated Frenchman Constant Lestienne 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
Tristan Schoolkate also came from two sets down to beat Japan’s Taro Daniel 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-4.
More Australians could join them in the second round with Max Purcell, Alex Vukic, James Duckworth and Chris O’Connell all in action on day two.
In the women’s draw Daria Saville and Taylah Preston both suffered first round defeats.
