Thanasi Kokkinakis stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas to follow Jordan Thompson and wildcard Tristan Schoolkate by extending Australia’s excellent start to the US Open with convincing first-round victories in New York.
Fan favourite Kokkinakis received a standing ovation at The Grandstand after beating Grand Slam No. 2 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-3 7-5 to complete a stunning Australian treble early in the third day. Incredibly, Kokkinakis’s fierce four-set victory over the world No. 11 was only his second Open win in nine injury-plagued years.
“A huge relief,” Kokkinakis said of the best Grand Slam win of his career. “Super happy, super pumped. It’s well documented that I’ve had a few that were tight, but I’m starting to get on the winning side now.”
The 28-year-old’s reward is a golden opportunity to finally win a Grand Slam in a wide-open area of the draw. Kokkinakis now faces unseeded Nuno Borges, with Schoolkate a potential third-round opponent after the West Australian’s own watershed win over Taro Daniel.
Schoolkate confirmed his wildcard entry with a strong comeback victory of 4-6 4-6 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in his long-awaited debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
“It’s fantastic. I’m obviously very happy to have survived that match,” said Schoolkate, the world number 193. “Especially when you’re two sets down to zero, it feels like a long way back.
“But I thought if I just kept going and kept myself in the game, there’s no time limit in tennis. As long as you’re still playing, you still have a chance.”
The 23-year-old Schoolkate was given a second-round shot against Czech Jakub Mensik, as well as a life-changing career payday of at least $140,000 (S$207,000).
Thompson had earlier shaken off the disappointment of missing out on a one-place ranking by blowing away Constant Lestienne 6-1 6-3 6-2 in less than two hours. The world number 32 did his best to escape the scorching heat by breaking the Frenchman six times without losing his own serve once.
Thompson will face world number 7 Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the last 32.
Australia now have seven players through to the second round, with Kokkinakis, Schoolkate and Thompson joining the first round winners Alexei Popyrin, Rinky Hijikata, Ajla Tomljanovic and 18-year-old qualifier Maya Joint.
But women’s wildcard Taylah Preston’s international Grand Slam debut lasted just 61 minutes as she lost 6-2 6-0 in the first round to Russian team Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
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Daria Saville’s comeback from a foot injury ended in frustration and despair. The Australian No. 1 lost 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10-6) to Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara in a thrilling match that lasted three hours and 16 minutes.
Destanee Aiava’s qualifying run ended in a gutsy 6-1 7-6 (7-1) defeat to fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina. The Australian had three set points and decided the match against the 2022 Wimbledon champion.
As many as 13 Australians were due to play on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), including 10th-seeded Alex de Minaur in the men’s event, who was coming off a nervous comeback from a hip injury. De Minaur faced American Marcos Giron, who had not played a tour match since withdrawing from his scheduled Wimbledon quarter-final with Novak Djokovic in early July.
At least one Australian is still going through: Sydney friends Aleksandar Vukic and Max Purcell will compete against each other.
South Australian qualifier Li Tu has a dream date with reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s main draw at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Chris O’Connell takes on 26th seed Nicolas Jarry, with James Duckworth and Arina Rodionova also in contention later.