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Home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis continued his strong start to the 2022 season with a three-set win over Frances Tiafoe in the second round of the Adelaide International on Wednesday.
Kokkinakis looked in great shape as he overcame the American fourth seed after more than two hours of high quality tennis to book a spot in the quarterfinals.
Francies Tiafoe vs Thanasi Kokkinakis Score
Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Francis Tiafoe 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Frances Tiafoe vs Thanasi Kokkinakis Winner
With the win over Tiafoe, Kokkinakis advanced to his first ATP quarterfinal since August 2019. He will face Mikael Ymer of Sweden in the last eight. The Australian will be hoping to bag his first-ever tour-level title at his hometown event, with his best result on the tour being a run to the final at the Los Cabos Open in 2017.
Frances Tiafoe vs Thanasi Kokkinakis Recap
Frances Tiafoe came out all guns blazing as he broke the Australian early on to race to a 3-0 lead in the first set. As both players settled down, break chances were hard to come by and Tiafoe held on to his lead to take the set 6-3.
Tiafoe broke Kokkinakis' serve in the first game of the second set. But this time, the Australian reacted swiftly as he broke back in the next game following a double fault from the American on break point.
Kokkinakis couldn't build on the momentum and surrendered his serve in the fifth game with a backhand error. Just as Tiafoe threatened to pull away, the pendulum swung once again as the American lost focus and surrendered the break from 40-0 up in the very next game.
At 5-6 in the second set, Kokkinakis made his move, forcing Tiafoe into a backhand error to clinch the set 7-5.
The third set began with Kokkinakis saving a break point in his opening service game to retain the momentum. With both players striking the ball ferociously, the rallies proved to be exciting, gruelling affairs that got the partisan Adelaide crowd into the action.
In the fourth game, Kokkinakis hit a monstrous forehand winner down the line to break Tiafoe and send the crowd into raptures. The American never recovered and surrendered his next service game as well to hand Kokkinakis the chance to serve for the match. The Australian made no mistake, booking his spot in the quarterfinals.
