
via Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 11, 2021 Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in action during his second round match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

via Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 11, 2021 Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in action during his second round match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
Thanasi Kokkinakis has displayed a great performance at the Los Cabos Open in Mexico. The Australian lost a hard-fought battle in the first round of the tournament, as he lost a point due to a penalty. He was playing with a broken racquet during the third set tiebreak.
While Denis Kudla emerged as the victor of a 3 hour 10 minute-long battle, Kokkinakas surely played some great tennis before losing 6-4, 6-7, 6-7.
Kokkinakis gets a point penalty for a broken racket in at 2-4 in the 3rd set tiebreak. After 3h10. Jesus.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 20, 2021
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Thanasi Kokkinakis ends up on the losing side after a frustrating battle
Kokkinakis ended up losing a penalty point due to a broken racquet in the third set. He was trailing behind at 2-4 during the tiebreak in the third set.
Despite being on the losing side in the end, he aced the game right from the beginning, quite literally. The Aussie dominated on all fronts, as he recorded 23 aces against Denis.
The match went right till the wire, as the second and third set saw a few dramatic tiebreakers. Kokkinakis was losing his focus in some places and also broke his racquet during the match.
He was losing out at the end, as he converted only two break points out of the nine he had. On the other hand, Denis converted one break point out of the two he had the chance for. After playing really well for three hours, it was the last finish that Kokkinakis couldn’t cross.
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What a battle. 😤@deniskudla gets through his first round match in over three hours. He defeats Kokkinakis 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(3). #AMT2021 pic.twitter.com/l08B9NIyHA
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) July 20, 2021
Denis will either meet Ernesto Escobedo or Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the tournament. It will be an all-American battle, irrespective of Ernesto and McDonald’s winner.
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As for Thanasi Kokkinakis, the curtains have been drawn for him. Fans will hope for a stronger comeback from the Aussie, after he failed to qualify for the main draw at the Wimbledon Championships.
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