Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3 3-6 6-3 just before midnight in 2 hours and 10 minutes to reach the second round on Memorial Drive at the Adelaide International.
Kokkinakis converted three of his twelve break points, but Nishioka saved all three break points he faced.
Kokkinakis broke serve on his fourth break points in the fourth game to take a 4-1 lead and served out on his second set point in the ninth game.
Nishioka broke in the eighth game to win the second set 6-3 forcing the match to the third set.
Kokkinakis broke twice to take a 5-1 lead in the third set. Nishioka pulled one break point in the seventh game and saved three match points at 5-3 down before Kokkinakis sealed the win after 2 hours and 10 minutes.
The Australian player set up a second round match against either Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Tristan Schoolkate.
“Match aside, just walking out gets me emotional. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s pretty surreal to think a place where you grew up playing and training so many hours, you come out here and all these people are coming to watch you. So that kind of hit home when I was walking out there. I was honestly almost teary eyed when I walked out there. I just want to put on a good performance and just try my best out there”, said Kokkinakis.
Former world number 10 Denis Shapovalov did not face a break point in his 6-3 6-4 win over Zhang Zhizhen. Shapovalov broke serve in the sixth game and served out the first set on his fourth set point. Shapovalov converted his third break point in the fifth game and served out the win on his first match point.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5 6-2. Davidovich Fokina earned the first break in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Bautista Augut broke straight back to draw level to 3-3. Davidovich Fokina converted his fourth break point in the 11th game to seal the first st 7-5. The Spanish player broke twice in the in the first and seventh games to win the win the second set 6-2. Christopher O’Connell edged past Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 7-6 (7-5). O’Connell recovered from a mini-break down to win the tie-break of the second set.
