MELBOURNE, Australia — Stefanos Tsitsipas edged past local wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-4 at the Australian Open on Thursday to reach the third round.
The day after Nick Kyrgios sent John Cain Arena into delirium with a thrilling comeback, 267th-ranked Greek-Australian Kokkinakis appeared set for the boilover of the tournament when he threaded a backhand down the line to send the match into a fifth at Rod Laver Arena.
It was not to be, though, as Tsitsipas captured the decisive break in the fifth game and held on grimly to close out an epic contest which lasted four hours and 32 minutes.
Tsitsipas has a big following within Melbourne’s large Greek community but he was playing an Aussie for the first time at the Australian Open and had to contend with having a share support in the crowd.
The No. 5 seed will meet Sweden’s Mikael Ymer for a place in the fourth round.
Kokkinakis didn’t play at all in 2020 because of illness and injuries and this is his first major tournament since the 2019 U.S. Open. His first-round win over over Kwon Soon-woo was his first in the Australian Open main draw since 2015.
Information from Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.