After almost 24 hours of waiting, Thanasi Kokkinakis needed only five points and a few minutes to send Fabio Fognini packing and book an Australian Open date with Andy Murray.
But fellow Australians John Millman – who lost to dual finalist Daniil Medvedev – Jason Kubler, Aleks Vukic, Max Purcell, Rinky Hijikata and Olivia Gadecki all exited the tournament on Wednesday.
Thanasi Kokkinakis has won his rain-delayed match against Italian Fabio Fognini.Credit:Getty Images
Fognini’s lack of intensity surfaced again when his first-round clash with Kokkinakis resumed on Wednesday night from repeated rain delays that provided a greater challenge to the South Australian than his actual opponent.
The contest was paused for a frustrating fifth time just after 11.30pm on Tuesday, with Fognini trailing 6-1, 6-2, 4-2 and 15-40 on serve.
Rain kept falling in Melbourne on Wednesday, but Kokkinakis broke Fognini before finally sealing his passage to the second round with a 14th ace.
“That was some match – I don’t think I’ve experienced anything quite like that,” Kokkinakis said.
“Tricky circumstances, for sure … I would have loved to have gotten that finished sort of late last night, even if we stayed a bit longer. But that’s all right. I was ready to go again.
“I didn’t get much sleep. I’ve never been in that sort of position before, but I just tried to stay focused and worry about myself, and I’m happy to get through.”
The 26-year-old arrived in Melbourne after making the semi-finals in Adelaide last week and believing he was playing better than ever.
Kokkinakis plundered 27 winners to Fognini’s 20, while also committing nine fewer unforced errors, as he wrapped up the match in only one hour and 45 minutes of actual on-court time.
But he took umbrage to questions regarding Fognini’s perceived lack of effort.
“I’ve played him three times now, and I’m 3-0. Unless he has tanked every time …” Kokkinakis said.
“I’m playing good. I served well. I felt like I really didn’t give him any chances. I don’t know what he is feeling or how he is doing it, but he has been top 10. Who knows?
“A lot of guys like that sort of come in and out … I don’t really care, to be honest, whether people think he tanked or not. I’m through to the second round. That’s all that matters.”
Kokkinakis has never reached the last 32 at Melbourne Park and to do so would mean upsetting former world No.1 and five-time Open runner-up Murray, who won their only clash eight years ago in the Davis Cup semi-finals when Kokkinakis was still a teenager.
The great Scot produced a vintage five-set victory over Matteo Berrettini a day earlier and has a strong relationship off court with Kokkinakis.
“He definitely handed it to me that day [in the Davis Cup], but I’m ready now. I feel good. It’s going to be a tough match, obviously,” Kokkinakis said.
“I watched a fair bit of his match against Berrettini, and he played great. He is looking in good shape. I practised with him a fair bit recently.
“He may have lost a little bit, but his anticipation is just as good as ever, and he can still play at the top [with] the best of them. I’m going to be ready for the best version of Murray.”
John Millman lost in straight sets to last year’s men’s runner-up Daniil Medvedev.Credit:Eddie Jim
There were seven breaks of serve in a wild opening set between Millman and No.7 seed Medvedev, but the Russian worked his way on top to complete a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win and make the third round.
Kubler also fell short of making the round of 32 despite winning an extraordinary 70-shot rally to briefly swing his fortunes in the second set of a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 loss to 18th seed Karen Khachanov.
Vukic’s match was also held over from the previous night, and he won the fourth set to force a decider but went down 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to fellow qualifier Brandon Holt, of the United States.
Jason Kubler fought hard but went down in four sets to Russian Karen Khachanov.Credit:Eddie Jim
Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori ousted qualifier Purcell 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13-11), with the Australian unable to convert four chances in the fourth-set tie-breaker to send the contest to a fifth set.
The number of Australia men left in the Australian Open was winnowed further late in the evening with the admittedly not unexpected loss of wild card Rinky Hijikata to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Greek third seed made light work of Hijikata in their second round match winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-0, 6-2.
Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata in their second round encounter.Credit:Eddie Jim
After his epic five set win in the first round – his first time in the main Australian Open draw and at only his second grand slam – Hijikata was full of energy and fight but Tsitsipas’ class and composure saw him squeeze the crucial points to win comprehensively.
For Tsitsipas it means he has now made the third round here for five straight years.
As a Greek with strong local support in Melbourne Tsitsipas, an adopted local, said he was “seriously thinking of getting a home here one day”.
Gadecki was unable to repeat her first-round heroics in a 6-2, 6-1 defeat to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
Auger-Aliassime fights back from two sets down
Two young guns of the men’s draw took very different paths to reach the third round on Wednesday, with Italian 15th seed Jannik Sinner cruising through another match while sixth seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime clawed his way back to triumph from two sets to love down.
The 22-year-old Auger-Aliassime struggled to keep the ball low in the first two sets against the 54th-ranked Slovakian Alex Molcan, his frustration growing evident as several errant forehands landed long, backhands drifted out and more than a few balls flew off his racquet frame (one even hit the closed roof of Margaret Court Arena).
Sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada needed five sets to overcome a valiant challenge from Slovakia’s Alex Molcan.Credit:Getty Images
“I was just missing a little bit too much … it’s quite simple, you have to put the ball in the court without missing, at the end of the day. It’s not rocket science,” the Canadian said after the 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win.
Molcan, meanwhile, barely put a foot wrong early on, returning what should have been winners off the Auger-Aliassime racquet, drawing errors and breaking the Canadian to love to go up 4-2 in the second set.
His deft touch put pressure on the Auger-Aliassime serve in the opening game of the third, with an upset looking likely, but the sixth seed held on and found the “strength and resilience” to break the Slovakian’s serve (aided by two poorly timed double faults) at 4-3 and then serve out the set.
From there, the two men’s fortunes reversed, with Auger-Aliassime hitting 13 winners in the fourth to Molcan’s five, and limiting his unforced errors to just two – while his opponent’s ballooned to 11.
Alex Molcan of Slovakia looked likely to cause an upset on Margaret Court Arena but couldn’t overcome Felix Auger-Aliassime.Credit:AP
As the Slovakian increasingly found the net, Auger-Aliassime found his serve again, taking the final two sets in just over an hour to win in three hours.
It was the second time the Canadian was able to come back from two sets to love down at a grand slam, after beating Juan Pablo Varillas in round one of last year’s French Open. He later said he benefited from “a bit of fortune” as Molcan’s level dropped.
Earlier, the 15th seed Sinner had a much easier time on John Cain Arena as he disposed of Tomás Martín Etcheverry from Argentina 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in an hour and 45 minutes.
The 21-year-old from Italy has enjoyed a dream start to the Australian Open as he tries to reach the semi-finals of a grand slam for the first time. He has made the quarters at all four majors, including here at Melbourne Park, Wimbledon and the US last year, and the French Open in 2020.
Jannik Sinner of Italy cruised to victory in the second round on Wednesday.Credit:Getty Images
Sinner blitzed past Britain’s Kyle Edmund in round one, and his straight-sets win over Etcheverry on Wednesday made him the first male through to the third round, while others playing on the outdoor courts were still waiting for their first-round matches to resume after multiple rain delays.
Also in the men’s draw, American 16th seed Frances Tiafoe dominated Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 in under two hours. It’s already the 24-year-old’s best result at Melbourne Park since he made the quarter-final in 2019, losing to Rafael Nadal.
For daily updates of all the tennis action during the Australian Open, sign up for our Sport newsletter here.
Watch all the summer of tennis action, including the United Cup and the Australian Open, live on Channel Nine, 9Gem and 9Now.
