- Australian tennis stars shine at US Open
- Thanasi Kokkinakis surprised Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Alex de Minaur defeated local hope Marcos Girón
Thanasi Kokkinakis, Jordan Thompson and Tristan Schoolkate continued Australia’s superb start to the US Open with thrilling first-round wins in New York.
Fellow countryman Alex de Minaur was also impressive at Flushing Meadows as the 10th seed overcame local hope Marcos Giron in four sets.
Fan favourite Kokkinakis received a standing ovation on The Grandstand after defeating two-time Grand Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-3 7-5 to complete an impressive Australian treble at the start of day three.
Incredibly, Kokkinakis’ hard-fought four-set win over the 11th seed was only his second Open victory in nine injury-plagued years.
“A huge relief,” Kokkinakis said of the best Grand Slam win of his career.
“I’m very happy and very excited. It’s well documented that I’ve had some tough times, but I’m starting to come out on top of them now.”
The reward for the 28-year-old is a golden opportunity to finally put together a grand slam run in a wide-open corner of the draw.
Kokkinakis next faces unseeded Nuno Borges, with Schoolkate a possible third-round opponent following the West Australian’s decisive win over Taro Daniel.
Thanasi Kokkinakis, (pictured) Jordan Thompson and Tristan Schoolkate continued Australia’s superb start to the US Open with thrilling first-round wins in New York.
Compatriot Alex de Minaur was also impressive at Flushing Meadows, with the 10th seed edging out local hope Marcos Giron in four sets.
Schoolkate claimed her wildcard spot with a commanding 4-6 4-6 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 comeback win in her long-awaited Grand Slam main draw debut.
“It’s fantastic. Obviously I’m very happy to have come through this match,” said the world number 193.
‘Especially being down two sets to love, it seems like a long way back.
‘But I thought if I kept going like this and stayed in the match, there is no time limit in tennis.
“As long as you keep playing, you still have a chance.”
The 23-year-old earned a second-round shot at Czech Jakub Mensik, not to mention a life-changing payday of at least $US140,000 ($207,000).
Thompson shook off the disappointment of having dropped a ranking spot by one dismal place to defeat 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, breaking the Frenchman six times without losing his own serve even once.
Australian veteran Jordan Thompson easily beat Constant Lestienne 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 in less than two hours
Thompson will play world number 7 Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the last 32.
Australia now have eight players qualified for the second round, with Kokkinakis, Schoolkate, de Minaur and Thompson joining day one 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 in a 6-2 6-0 first-round loss to Russian top seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Daria Saville’s comeback from a foot injury ended in frustration and despair: the Australian number one lost 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (10-6) to Japanese player Ena Shibahara in a suspenseful three-hour and 16-minute match.
And Destanee Aiava’s run since qualifying ended with a gritty 6-1 7-6 (7-1) defeat by fourth seed Elena Rybakina after the Australian held three set points to take the match against the 2022 Wimbledon champion to a decider.
In later matches on Wednesday AEDT, Sydney stablemates Aleksandar Vukic and Max Purcell meet and South Australian qualifier Li Tu has a dream date with reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Elsewhere, Chris O’Connell will face 26th seed Nicolas Jarry, while James Duckworth and Arina Rodionova will also be in action.