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Thanasi Kokkinakis has won the battle of the Australians, defeating Bernard Tomic in an epic five set match in the 2nd round of the French Open.
Final Score:
Kokkinakis 3 3 6 6 8
Tomic 6 6 3 4 6
After being two sets to love down, and at one stage 0-40 down in the third set, Kokkinakis would fight back to progress to the third round of a Grand Slam event for the first time.
The South Australian, who was also a break down in the final set, would save three match points as well in the marathon match.
At the start of the match, games went on serve, as both players settled into the match.
Tomic would make the first break of the match, in the fifth game, as Kokkinakis would serve his first double fault on the break point.
The Queenslander would then get a second break to take the first set 6-3 against the South Australian.
At the start of the second set, Kokkinakis attacked, and raced to a 0-40 lead on Tomic’s serve.
Tomic would win five straight points, save the break point chances, and hold serve.
Five games later, at 3-3, Kokkinakis would do the same and race to 0-40.
Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis celebrates after defeating Australia’s Bernard Tomic. (AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA)
Tomic, who served well throughout, would rise to the occasion again and hold serve to lead 4-3.
The failed chances of Kokkinakis would come back to haunt him as he lost his serve in the next game of the match.
Tomic would seal the second set 6-3 and Kokkinakis would be 2 sets to love down despite having chances to win both sets.
In two sets he was 0 out of 6 in break points.
This continued in the third set as Kokkinakis tried to fight his way back into the match with more break point chances.
He would get two more in the first game of the third set but Tomic would hold on.
In the next game, Kokkinakis would fight back from 0-40 down, to win the game and level at 1-1.
If the South Australian had have lost that game, after the chances he had, that could have been the match.
To his credit though, he kept fighting, and finally got his breakthrough in the 6th game of the set.
On his 13th break point chance, after Tomic saved four more, Kokkinakis got one and took a 4-2 lead in the 3rd set.
The 19 year old would take the set 6-3, and race to a 3-0 lead in the 4th set.
He had the double break, and the momentum of the match.
Despite conceding one back, Kokkinakis would take the set 6-4, but suffer an injury towards the end of the set.
On game point for Tomic at 5-3, Kokkinakis would fall during the point, and hit his stomach with the racquet which went underneath him.
He was forced to call the trainer for the incident, and struggled at the start of the 5th set.
Tomic, as a professional should do, pounced and broke Kokkinakis in the 4th game of the set to take a 4-1 lead.
At 5-2, and with two match points on Kokkinakis’ serve, he looked home.
The South Australian though had other ideas.
He would save these two match points, and another, to hold for 5-3.
The world number 84 then attacked Tomic’s serve and won three straight points.
On the third break point, he would make it 5-4, and games were back on serve.
This turned the match and Kokkinakis started to get on top.
At 6-6, the croweater would pounce, and break Tomic for a 7-6 lead.
6 points later, the comeback was complete, and Kokkinakis had pulled off the upset.
It was an incredible performance from the 19 year old, but he should have won a set earlier in the match when Tomic was on top.
He had 22 break points and only won five of them.
On another day he could have had more and had a bigger influence in the opening two sets.
It is the second time in his career he has comeback from two sets to love down after he defeated Lukas Rosol in the Davis Cup earlier this year.
For Tomic it was his first loss in the 5th set since 2010.
The Queenslander played well and was unlucky not to win.
It was one of his best performances on clay in his career.
Kokkinakis now faces a match up with either Novak Djokovic or Gilles Muller.
If it is Djokovic it will be the second time in his career he has faced the number 1 seed at a Grand Slam event.
He faced Rafael Nadal in his debut main draw appearance at the Australian Open.
That match will be played on Saturday night and it will be interesting to see how he matches up against him.
For the third time this year Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis will face each other in an ATP event. This time they battle in the second round of the French Open.
Join The Roar for a live blog of the match at 7:30pm AEST for the battle between the Aussies. These two would be sick of facing each other after already battling in two matches this year. In Brisbane, during the first week of the year, Tomic won in straight sets. In a tight first set, which went to a tiebreaker, Tomic would win it 7-2 to take it seven games to six
The Queenslander would run away with the second set to seal the match in straight sets.
10 week later, in week 11 of the year, these two would face again in Indian Wells. This time, Kokkinakis got closer, winning the second set but losing in three sets to Tomic. A combination of heat, fatigue, and composure in the final set cost the South Australian.
Now ten weeks after that match, they face again, in the second Grand Slam of the year. This time the conditions are primed for the South Australian to beat his countryman for the first time.
Since hitting the clay, Kokkinakis has won 13 matches and lost just twice, on this surface. This included his first Challenger win in Bordeaux two weeks ago where he defeated Theimo De Bakker in the final. He is also now in the top 100 and rapidly closing in on the top 70 in the world.
A win tonight would take him up to around 68 in the world. In the first round, against Nikoloz Basilashvili, the South Australian lost the first set before winning the last three to secure his first main draw win at the French Open.
While he didn’t play at his best, he did enough, to secure the important win. The same can be said for Tomic, who defeated Luca Vanni in four sets.
The 2015 clay court season hasn’t been great for him but the win on Monday was a good one for the Queenslander. The feat was more impressive as it was revealed he had injections in his back to alleviate the pain in it.
He will be doing the same tonight when he faces his fellow Australian. Based on that, and his form on clay, you have to lean towards Kokkinakis to beat him tonight.
The pendulum is swinging slowly to the South Australian, after their last two matches, and a win over Tomic will happen sooner rather than later.
This could be a classic match between the two. I genuinely see both players winning sets and this could go to five sets.
If that happens, expect Kokkinakis to hold on, as Tomic battles his virus and back problems.
PREDICTION – Kokkinakis 3-1
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