Adelaide International: Kokkinakis toughs out first-round win | 9 January, 2023 | All News | News and Features | News and Events

Thanasi Kokkinakis has made a statement start in the defence of his Adelaide International crown, the South Australian eliminating countryman Alexei Popyrin in a first round of extreme momentum swings.

In a maiden ATP-level meeting between the two Australian players, Kokkinakis took an authoritative lead in the near three-hour encounter, with his perfect first set secured in only 25 minutes.

But the hometown favourite was severely tested when Popyrin recovered to take control in the second set and pushed Kokkinakis in a hard-fought decider.

“There’s a curse, I think. A few players feel it, almost when you win a set six-love, you know something’s bound to go bad,” said a smiling Kokkinakis, after securing an eventual 6-0 6-7(5) 7-5 victory.

With his trademark serve and a potent forehand proving especially damaging, Kokkinakis seemed on track to seamlessly add to an impressive record in Adelaide when he held two break points in the sixth game of the second set.

But as each of those openings dissolved with groundstroke errors, Popyrin grew in confidence; neither player capitalised on break point opportunities – Kokkinakis saving four, Popyrin two – as the set progressed to a tiebreak.

Three aces helped Popyrin gain the ascendancy, the younger Australian sending the match into a decider after an hour and 38 minutes.

“It was almost too smooth, so I knew there could be a tricky stage,” Kokkinakis related, rueing his missed break point opportunities.

A brief off-court break at first provided little respite for the local, who dropped serve in the opening game of the third set. Several games later, the home favourite recovered both energy and momentum; with the slightest dip from Popryin, he clawed the break back and consolidated to take a 4-3 lead.

From there, the pressure was on Popryin, especially as a more aggressive Kokkinakis dominated the rallies. As his first serve lapsed, the defending champion produced some exquisite winners that thrilled his hometown crowd.