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Sam Groth has beaten fellow Australian, Thanasi Kokkinakis, in 5 sets to progress to the third round in a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
In Groth’s first ever 5 set match which went the distance, the Australian was victorious, 3-6 6-4 7-5 3-6 6-1.
It was a contest of limited chances as each player served well over the five sets.
Only 12 break points were created during the match with just six breaks of serve.
In the first three sets, one break decided each set, which allowed the opponent to serve for it.
Kokkinakis, who saved three break points of his own, took the first set with the only break point chance he got at 4-3 up in the opening set.
Groth would return the favour with a break in the same game of the second set to take it 6-3.
He then took the decisive third set, 7-5, to take the momentum of the match.
It was an important set as Kokkinakis started to fatigue after his 4 hour marathon match in Round 1.
At 5-5, Kokkinakis provided the only break point of the set, which Groth took to take the 2 sets to one lead.
Kokkinakis responded in the fourth by breaking Groth immediately.
The Aussie, with almost no energy left, was able to get a lift from the crowd which wanted a fifth set.
He would hold serve for the rest of the set – at the loss of just three points on serve – to force the match into a decider.
Unfortunately for Kokkinakis, he completely ran out of energy, and couldn’t provide a contest in the last set.
Groth would race to a 5-0 lead and win the match 6-1.
The fitness was really the only thing that let the Aussie down.
For the other four sets there was absolutely nothing between them.
Groth would serve more aces and hit more winners with Kokkinakis making less unforced errors than his countryman.
On another day, with different fitness levels, we could have had a different winner.
Take nothing away from Groth though, he deserved the win, and was impressive on the big points.
He was impressed to win in his first full five setter.
“I thought I played good tennis in the fifth set. I knew he played a long match in the last one; went five sets.”
“In the fourth set he was getting himself pretty fired up. At some stage he had to come down a little bit. When he did, I pounced early in the fifth set. I’m still pretty inexperienced at this level. It’s my first five-set match; my first time in the third round of a Grand Slam; it’s my first time in the second round of the Australian Open. I’m inexperienced, but I’m loving every minute of it at the moment.”
He also feels like he belongs at this level after his last twelve months of tennis.
“I’ve done the work and I’m winning matches. You get to where your results take
you. So if I can win another match and get in the second week, I feel like I deserve to be there.”
He later added it was tough playing against an Aussie in front of a home crowd.
“It’s not easy. Everyone would love to see Thanasi and I both in the third round. That’s the way it is. You play who you’ve got to play. Same if I play Bernie in the next round. I can’t worry about playing Bernard Tomic. I have to worry about getting through and getting into the fourth round.”
His opponent felt the same way and said dealing with Groth’s serve was tough.
“We know each other’s games pretty well. The thing I found difficult was his serve. That was pretty much it, to be honest.”
For Kokkinakis he was disappointed not to be fit enough for the match.
“I thought I did all the right things. I had three ice baths; tried acupuncture for the first time to see if that would work. I [just] felt flat coming into the match.”
“I think it will be better for me in the future. I think I’ll know what to do in between. Hopefully I’ll end up with a better result,” he added.
The focus for Kokkinakis will quickly turn to the doubles with Nick Kyrgios tomorrow. He then plans to play in America.
“Obviously doubles is next. I’ll focus on that. Then probably chill out a little bit after this tournament, mentally refresh. Then [the American tournaments in] Memphis [and] Delray [are next].
He is listed for the Maui Challenger next week but he is unlikely to play that event.
As for Groth he will play doubles tomorrow with Eric Butorac.
He will then face Bernard Tomic in the third round on Friday.
One Australian player is guaranteed to be in the third round of the Australian Open when Sam Groth faces Thanasi Kokkinakis tonight on Hisense Arena.
Join The Roar for live scores and commentary of the match from around 6pm AEDT. Just who that Australian will be is the fascinating question heading into tonight’s match.
For the winner it will be their first ever appearance in the third round of a Grand Slam event. It could also set up another all-Australian match if Bernard Tomic can defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber tonight.
In the first round of the Open, both players won contrasting matches, to progress to the big match between the two tonight. Groth, who won his first ever main draw match at the Australian Open, defeated Filip Krajinovic in three comfortable sets of tennis.
He dominated the contest with 24 aces and 64 winners against the Serbian. The Aussie only conceded 31 unforced errors as well.
It was a great performance from a player who was 0-2 from his first two main draw appearances at the Australian Open.
On the other hand, Kokkinakis had a marathon match, as he battled past Ernests Gulbis in five long sets. In a match that last four hours and seven minutes, Kokkinakis fought back from two sets to one down, to beat the Latvian 8-6 in the final set.
He also saved four match points in a pulsating fourth set that eventually went the Australians way. For an 18-year-old, who hasn’t had that many marathon matches; it will be interesting to see how his fitness is during tonight’s match.
I expect that to play a big part tonight. At some stage, Kokkinakis will struggle with his fitness, and Groth will take advantage of that.
The start is critical for the South Australian. For me, he needs to win the match in 3 or 4 sets, to be victorious.
If Groth starts well, and Kokkinakis has to fight back, then it will be tough for the world number 147. Nullifying Groth’s serve will also be a challenge.
The Victorian gets plenty of free points from his serve, so Kokkinakis needs to take advantage of any opportunities he gets to break Groth tonight.
Vice versa, Kokkinakis needs to serve well, and restrict the chances he gives Groth to break. Against Gulbis he gave the Latvian 21 chances to break his serve. With Groth hardly giving his opponents a chance in 2015 so far, Kokkinakis will need to reduce those chances tonight.
If this was a first round match, with both players one hundred percent fit, I would give Kokkinakis a big chance to win the match.
Unfortunately it isn’t and I can’t see the South Australian being fit enough to win tonight. It is going to take more than three sets for Kokkinakis to win and it is tough to expect the 18-year-old to be fit for another three to four hours of tennis.
Kokkinakis will start well but be eventually beaten in four or five sets by Groth.
PREDICTION – Sam Groth 3-2
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