The tournament might have started at a crawl, but the Australian Open is now roaring along. For the second time in 24 hours the first grand slam of the season has been given a shot in the arm by a local hero, this time Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Even in defeat the wildcard stole the show on day four. Featuring in round two of a grand slam for only the second time since 2015, and sporting another $6 Kmart t-shirt, he matched fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas for four-and-a-half hours, only to fall 6-4 in the fifth set.
“I loved every minute of it, apart from the result,” Kokkinakis said afterwards, “matches like this are the reasons why I believe I can still do and why I’ve tried to come back so many times.”
Tsitsipas was never broken, and only had to defend three break points, but Kokkinakis pinched a couple of gritty tiebreaks to prolong the contest in the soupy Melbourne heat. The third game of the deciding set – the 47th of the match – lasted 14 minutes and included seven deuces. Kokkinakis found reserves of energy his injury plagued body had previously denied him.
Tsitsipas was a gracious victor. “He wasn’t able to play all these years due to injuries that he had, and it was a big shame because we were missing someone who was not there with us on the tour,” he said of Kokkinakis, the great “what if?” of Australian tennis.
In 2013 he reached the final of the boys’ singles at Melbourne Park, pipped at the post by none other than Nick Kyrgios. But soon afterwards the injuries began. His back, his shoulder, his knee, you name it, it broke down.
All the while there were tantalising glimpses of what the future might hold. In 2015, while still a teenager, he remained on court long enough to reach a career-high ranking of 69, and in 2018 he defeated Roger Federer in Miami, in the process becoming the lowest-ranked player to beat a world No 1 in 15 years. Now he’s 24, buying his kit from a toy shop and relying on wildcards.
As Kokkinakis’ career has stalled and Kyrgios’ has taken the scenic route, Alex De Minaur has stepped up to assume the mantle of Australia’s No 1. Tonight was supposed to be his night, but a bloodless straight sets victory over Pablo Cuevas was never going to cut through after what preceded it.
The Demon, as he is affectionately known, headlined the opening match of the evening session on Margaret Court Arena, but the Tsitsipas Kokkinakis epic remained unresolved next-door. The Mumford & Sons foot-stomper “I will wait” came over the PA system at the coin toss, but time and tennis schedules wait for no man, and as hordes of fans remained outside glued to Rod Laver Arena, De Minaur did what he had to.
Cuevas, a Uruguayan 14 years De Minaur’s senior, ensured what the Australian had to do was not too taxing. During the warm up the veteran stroked practice shots into the net with worrying regularity and it came as little surprise when his opening service game contained five unforced errors, one of which ricocheted miles off the frame of his hot pink racket.
De Minaur’s industrious point-winning, especially his frequent sorties to the net, earned smatterings of polite applause, but this was a world away from the bombastic scenes the tournament had become accustomed to. Moments were so quiet between points the swift-like birds dive-bombing the clouds of moths swarming around the floodlights could be heard chirruping and gurgling away.
That distraction ended midway through the opening set when the two massive corrugated slabs of roof slowly joined. For the first time this event, water tightness precipitated the wearing of masks courtside. It seemed an unnecessary move to begin with, but event managers were soon vindicated as a cool change and squally showers blew through the precinct. After such a stifling day it was welcome, like the breaking of a fever, but it also robbed us of further play on the outside courts.
So late into the night during the opening week of a grand slam that would be of little concern. But not this night. On court three at 9pm, less than two hours after his marathon duel, Kokkinakis was slated to be back in action in the doubles. Alongside him? Kyrgios of course. “Doubles with him is always an experience. It’s good to play with a close mate,” he said.
In victory, and in defeat, these longtime friends have transformed this tournament.
