Thanasi Kokkinakis has qualified for the Cincinnati Masters, after erasing 3 consecutive match points.
A week after his good run in Toronto, where he made it all the way from the qualifiers to the 2nd round, Kokkinakis took another main board qualification through the qualifiers in Cincinnati.
The 27-year-old Greek-Australian, No.86 in the world, beat Daniel Elahi Galan after 3 hours and 7 minutes of match, 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-2 .
In the tie-break of the 2nd set, Kokkinakis was losing 1-5 and 3-6, but erased all of Galan’s match points and finally prevailed 9-7, to send the match to a 3rd set. There he broke early and never lost the upper hand again, to complete the upset with another break shortly after the 3 hour mark.
The “marathon” battle with Galan, No.68 in the world, came less than 24 hours after Kokkinakis’ yet another tough victory over Laslo Djere, No.35 in the world, 3-6, 6-3, 7 -5.
Continuing his good performances in the American tournaments, Kokkinakis will wait for the draw of the qualifiers to find out his next opponent in Cincinnati. Possible opponents are Hubert Hurkacz, Lorenzo Sonego, Francisco Cerundolo, Emil Ruusuvuori, Lloyd Harris, Ugo Humbert and John Isner.
