The Aussies were very much centre stage at the Adelaide International last night.
On his favourite court in the world, Thanasi Kokkinakis won an epic match to set up a quarter-final clash with American Sebastian Korda, after defeating Tomás Martín Etcheverry 7-5 4-6 7-6(4) in just over three hours while World No.1 Junior, 16-year-old Emerson Jones, went down fighting in a promising showing against world No.9 Daria Kasatkina.
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In front of a near-capacity crowd, Kokkinakis was buoyed on as he took the opening set against the higher-ranked Etcheverry.
However, the Argentine fought back to grab the second set as Kokkinakis dropped serve from 40-0 up. Kokkinakis looked the weaker player for most of the final set, but fuelled by a boisterous crowd, he took the set into a tiebreak and served up some high-powered groundstrokes as Etcheverry came off the boil slightly, eventually converting match point on the Argentine’s serve.
“I thought I probably got better as the match went on,” said Kokkinakis. “Even though I won the first set, I thought I wasn't playing great until right at the end where I broke him.”
“I was happy with my point construction at the end. And yeah, I dug deep for that. But he's a hell of a player and he was going to be a battle.”
While Kokkinakis got through the match, he raised some doubt over his fitness for the rest of the tournament and ahead of the Australian Open.
“[I] didn't feel great there, to be honest. A little bit of fatigue and just the injury that I worked the hardest on to try and get right. It’s just something that I've had to play through for a while, it’s tough.”
Kokkinakis made sure to thank the crowd, saying that he would not have got over the line if it weren’t for their support of their hometown hero.
“[The Adelaide crowd are] the best. There's nothing like it,” he said. “Sometimes I felt flat and my energy wasn't quite there. But to have that support and playing in front of a packed arena here every time, it's why I play, and it gives me goosebumps, so I can't thank them enough.”
Jones also showed her huge promise while ultimately falling to Kasatkina.
The Aussie teenager broke early in the first set before Kasatkina gained a strangehold as she served for the set. But Jones broke back with some incredible backhand winners to get the match back to even before Kasatkina broke again to take the set.
From there, it was more of a procession as Jones wilted as the clock edged closer to midnight but after a scintillating performance earlier in the week, and the glimpses of her potential shown in this match, there is no doubt that she will be one to watch going into the Australian Open.
Joining Kokkinakis in the last eight is fellow Aussie Rinky Hijikata, making the most of his lucky loser reprieve, despatching seventh-seed Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5)
Around the grounds, the Canadians had mixed fortunes as Félix Auger-Aliassime took a three-set win over Arthur Cazaux, while Denis Shapovalov fell in a poor performance to Marcos Giron.
The top seeds hit the court for the first time with Tommy Paul battling through a surprise fight with lucky loser Manuel Guinard, who whipped up the crowd with some breathtaking groundstrokes, while on the women's, Jessica Pegula easily defeated Maria Sakkari.
In doubles, Matthew Ebden started off his new partnership with Joran Vliegen with a victory. Elsewhere, Ellen Perez moved into the semi-finals with Kateřina Siniaková.
Action turns to the quarter-finals today, with Rinky Hijikata to take on Tommy Paul, while Kokkinakis faces Sebastian Korda in the night session.
American trio Emma Navarro, Jessica Pegula, and Madison Keys will also be in action as the singles and doubles draws both draw nearer to their conclusion with the Australian Open only a few days away.
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