Kokkinakis Wins Adelaide Thriller

Thanasi Kokkinakis has revived memories of his breakthrough title run in Adelaide three years ago, after progressing to the quarterfinals of his hometown tournament.

The 77th-ranked South Australian required more than three hours to record a 7-5 4-6 7-6(4) victory over No.39 Tomas Martin Etcheverry, in a match that kept a sold-out crowd at The Drive enthralled from the first to final point.

“You guys are unbelievable,” the delighted 28-year-old told the appreciative audience. “Every time I come out here, I can count on you guys to bring the energy. I don’t love playing anywhere else more than this.”

Firing 23 aces throughout the suspense-filled encounter, Kokkinakis most importantly held his nerve in the third-set tiebreak.  After securing a 3-1 lead, the hometown favourite seized momentum against the Argentine, going on to secure the match.

“Tomas is a hell of a player,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a dog fight, so I just tried to stay calm and pulled out of a couple of tricky situations.”

The hard-fought victory sets a quarterfinal showdown with No.2 seed Sebastian Korda, whom Kokkinakis is yet to defeat in the three matches they’ve played.

“I had match points on him in Washington and he shanked a ball past me on the line and he won the match and the tournament, so that one I’ve kind of still got demons about that to be honest,” he commented of their third-round match in Washington last year.”