Thanasi Kokkinakis is through to the third round of the French Open with a hard-fought five-set win over Stan Wawrinka.
The Greek Australian world number 108 came through 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 in four hours and 38 minutes against the 2015 French Open champion.
Kokkinakis triumphs in rollercoaster match against three-time Grand Slam Champion Wawrinka.
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2023
Watch the highlights#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/dSBywBDS9a
Kokkinakis got off to a sluggish start, losing the first set before hitting back in the second to level the match, which then see-sawed until the final deciding set.
In the dramatic final game at 5-3, Wawrinka saved four match points after fighting back from 40/0 down on return, but he was powerless to stop the fifth as Kokkinakis dug deep to claim victory.
WOW….. What a war
— Thanasi Kokkinakis (@TKokkinakis) May 31, 2023couldn’t be happier.. big respect to @stanwawrinka unreal fight #legend pic.twitter.com/J83vmxSeDX
“What a match. I know Stan is getting older but in the first set he was playing the best. I was nowhere, just hanging in,” Kokkinakis said after the match. “I feel better now that I’ve won.”
Kokkinakis last made the third round of a Slam in Paris eight years ago when he was just 19. He will now take on Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov for a place in the last 16.
Source: ATP and Fox Sports.
