Dominant Demon reaches uncharted territory, Kokkinakis wins slug-fest
By Marc McGowan
Another rain-interrupted Paris day did not stop Alex de Minaur from breaking new ground at Roland-Garros as his career-best season continued.
De Minaur had never advanced beyond the second round in seven previous attempts at the claycourt major but shook off a mid-match, weather-enforced delay to move into the final 32 for the first time with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Spaniard Jaume Munar.
Alex de Minaur has advanced to the round of 32 at Roland-Garros for the first time.Credit: Getty Images
Australian ironman Thanasi Kokkinakis followed de Minaur into the third round with a second-straight five-set triumph, rallying from a two-set deficit to down Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 in a seesawing battle lasting almost four hours.
“It feels great. Ultimately, it’s something that I’ve always thought that I was going to be able to achieve in my career,” de Minaur said of making the round of 32.
“I thought there’s no reason why I can’t do it, so it’s just good to finally be able to be in the third round and keep on going because ultimately, my goal is not to make the third round, it’s to go for bigger and better things. I’m just keeping myself alive and ready for the next round.”
Zeppieri served unsuccessfully for the match in the fourth set then fluffed a simple overhead on top of the net at five-all in the tie-breaker before Kokkinakis – after taking exception to some rowdy Italian fans – forced a deciding set, two days after outlasting countryman Alexei Popyrin.
Kokkinakis stormed to a 4-1 lead in the final set as Zeppieri began cramping, only for a surprise twist. The South Australian, who also made the third round last year, slumped to 15-40 in the seventh game, leaving the door ajar for Zeppieri to stage his own comeback. But the 148th-ranked Italian barely made a return from there as Kokkinakis hung tough then broke his rival again to win on his second match point.
American 12th seed Taylor Fritz awaits Kokkinakis in the next round.
Thanasi Kokkinakis has won back-to-back five-setters to reach the third round.Credit: Getty Images
De Minaur kicked off his claycourt season in April with a fourth-round run at the Monte-Carlo Masters – where he tested but fell to Novak Djokovic – before becoming the first Australian to beat Rafael Nadal on the surface in Barcelona.
He followed that by beating world No.20 Felix Auger Aliassime en route to the last 16 at the Rome Masters, ensuring he entered Roland-Garros with confidence he could improve his underwhelming record at the grand slam.
The 25-year-old spoke about how he was a “completely different player” on the red dirt than he used to be after his straight-sets first-round victory over Alex Michelsen on Tuesday – and he proved that with an authoritative performance against Munar.
Inclement weather has wreaked havoc with the schedule in the opening week of the grand slam, and de Minaur again had to endure rain delays, even after finally arriving at court six after 6pm local time.
He never trailed but had to negotiate a tricky first set littered with breaks that he initially failed to serve out at 5-4. De Minaur almost stumbled a second time two games later before ripping off three consecutive backhand winners from break point down to secure the set.
Munar did not help his cause with seven double faults in the opening set and 12 in total, a problem that also haunted him at key moments in the second set.
De Minaur broke his Spanish rival to start the next set and was 2-1 up when rain intervened again.
The hour-long break in play did nothing to halt his momentum, with Munar sending down his eighth and ninth double faults of the match – either side of a brilliant backhand winner from the 11th-seeded Australian – to concede serve once more after resumption.
With girlfriend and fellow player Katie Boulter cheering from the stands, de Minaur raced to a two-sets-to-love advantage soon after despite landing only 25 per cent of his own first serves in the second set.
De Minaur’s girlfriend and fellow player Katie Boulter was part of his support crew.Credit: Getty Images
The third set was more competitive but Munar, a solid but unspectacular player who lacks the weapons to hurt de Minaur, never looked like changing the course of the contest, particularly as he argued with the chair umpire then later called the supervisor to court over a complaint.
De Minaur timed his run perfectly, holding for 5-4 then placing Munar under pressure at 0-30 with a stunning cross-court backhand winner past his 64th-ranked opponent at the net. Back-to-back forehand errors sealed Munar’s fate, and de Minaur’s spot in the third round after two hours and 11 minutes.
He finished with 25 winners to Munar’s 21 and did not face a break point in the last two sets, but will need to go to another level against his next opponent, German Jan-Lennard Struff, who is one of the form players on clay.
Struff dismissed 19th seed Alexander Bublik 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to book his spot in the round of 32. The world No.41 ousted Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune and Fritz on his way to winning the Munich ATP 250 title in mid-April, and it took Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas to stop him at his other three claycourt events this year.
De Minaur won their most-recent match in Miami two months ago, but the big-serving Struff has claimed two of his five meetings with him, including their sole encounter on clay at Monte-Carlo last year.
With AAP
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