Thanasi Kokkinakis has been left reflecting on one other irritating loss to rising British star Jack Draper on what proved a troublesome day on clay for the Australian males on the Madrid Open.
Kokkinakis was the third Aussie to chunk the purple mud in Wednesday’s first spherical after losses for Alexei Popyrin and Aleksandar Vukic, nevertheless it felt essentially the most exasperating because the resurgent Adelaide participant suffered the identical destiny he skilled in final 12 months’s Davis Cup tie in Manchester.
On that event, Kokkinakis had additionally performed a superb match, solely to lose in a third-set tiebreak to Draper – and this time the 22-year-old Briton once more held agency in one other shut affair to carry off the big-serving Australian 6-3 3-6 7-5 in a high-quality two-hour affair within the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium.
The defeat checked the superb current surge of Kokkinakis, who gained the current Sarasota Open Challenger, which secured his place on the French Open whereas additionally pushing him again into the world’s top-100.
After additionally qualifying to make the primary attract Madrid, together with a hanging win over former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, the 28-year-old got here again strongly on Wednesday to largely dominate in opposition to left-hander Draper after the highly effective Briton had shortly gone 3-0 as much as management the primary stanza.
With his forehand booming loads of his 25 winners and serving down 9 aces, Kokkinakis took the second set and had Draper beneath the cosh till the twelfth sport of the ultimate set when scoreboard stress started to crank up on the Australian and the Briton proved too resolute.
“It was a tough, I’ve been losing a few 7-6 in the third recently, and Kokkinakis is such an amazing player who’s had some great results in his career, beating the likes of (Roger) Federer, so he can really play,” stated Draper.
“So I’m really proud of the way I stepped up at the key moments today.”
Draper was chargeable for a laudable act of sportsmanship in that ultimate sport when he requested for some extent to be replayed after Kokkinakis had been deprived by a noise within the crowd and served a fault.
Explaining that he believed Kokkinakis would have supplied him the identical courtesy if the boot had been on the opposite foot, Draper defined: “It’s important to show some sportsmanship and it makes you feel better about yourself.”
Earlier, Sydneysider Popyrin, who’s regarded good on clay this season, nonetheless needed to give second finest 7-5 6-2 to the spectacular Argentine rookie Mariano Navone, who’s risen to a career-high No.41 on the again of his clay-court prowess.
World No.62 Vukic then battled to take skilled Japanese Taro Daniel right into a deciding set earlier than shedding 6-2 6-7 (1-7) 6-1.
Chris O’Connell and Max Purcell will each be in motion on Thursday as they search to hitch Alex de Minaur and Jordan Thompson, who each have byes, within the second spherical.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
