Thanasi Kokkinakis has overcome French star Gael Monfils to arrange an Atlanta Open second-round conflict with fellow Australian Alex de Minaur, the two-time and defending champion.
Kokkinakis got here from 4-0 down within the deciding set tiebreaker to win 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-5) on Monday, securing his first tour-level victory since reaching third spherical of the French Open.
“In a tiebreak you can go down quickly and can come back quickly. I got a point on his serve and then two on mine and all of a sudden he’s feeling the pressure,” Kokkinakis instructed atptour.com.
“It was pretty stressful, especially in the first set, which wasn’t much fun. He posed a lot of challenges and he is one of the quickest players on tour. I can’t get a ball by him most of the time.”
Now he faces second seed de Minaur, who received this match in each 2019 and 2022.
“Demon and I are good mates. We share Davis Cup together, we train a little bit together,” Kokkinakis mentioned.
“He’s a hell of a player and he’s leading the way for us Aussies. He’s the defending champion here in Atlanta so he obviously likes the conditions.
“I do know it will not be simple. I practised with him the opposite day and he gave me a spanking. It must be a enjoyable match.”
Fellow Australian Aleksandar Vukic additionally superior to the second spherical, beating American wildcard Ethan Quinn 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, however countryman James Duckworth went all the way down to South African qualifier Lloyd Harris 3-6 6-3 6-2.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
