Former world No. 69 Thanasi Kokkinakis said he felt “stoked” after edging out John Isner in a thriller clash at Adelaide 2. Kokkinakis, who received a wildcard for the tournament, edged out Isner 6-7 (5) 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) to reach the Adelaide quarterfinal.
Kokkinakis, now ranked at No. 145 in the world, clinched one of the biggest wins of his career after beating former world No. 8 Isner. “I’m stoked. Obviously I knew going into it, it was going to be a super tough match.
One of the best servers if not the best ever. Got to try to create opportunities when you can,” Kokkinakis said after the win, per Tennis Australia.
Kokkinakis survived a thriller
Kokkinakis had the first break point of the match but Isner saved three break points in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead.
Kokkinakis had two more break points in the 11th game but Isner saved to force a tie-break, in which he realized his first set point to take the opener. As not a single break point was seen in the second set — it went into a tie-break — in which Kokkinakis recovered from a 4-2 deficit to force a decider.
No breaks were seen in the third set either as Kokknakis took an early 3-0 lead in the tie-break, before realizing his first match point to complete a comeback win. Kokkinakis will be fighting against fellow wildcard Aleksandar Vukic for a place in the Adelaide semifinal.
“He’s had two good wins playing some big servers the last couple days. Vuc came from college. He’s improved a lot the last sort of year or so,” he said. “He’s a good dude. We spent a bit of time out in London when we were allowed outside the bubble, we had some nights out. We know each other pretty well. He’s a good guy and should be a tough match for sure”.