Thanasi Kokkinakis has roared back from the brink of defeat after four-and-a-quarter hours in sweltering Paris heat to launch another trademark five-set comeback at the French Open. The injury-plagued Australian, who feared at the Australian Open his career could be sunk by chronic shoulder trouble, again defied all odds to outlast French leftie Terence Atmane 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 4-6 6-3 7-5.
Two sets to one down, then 5-3 and 30-0 behind in the decider as the local served for the match, roared on by a fevered home crowd, Adelaide's finest conjured up all his old famed resilience to haul himself back. It was classic Kokkinakis, going to a fifth-set decider for the 16th time in his career and eking out a ninth win after four hours 18 minutes.
Amid all the baiting by the crowd, he riled them further by furiously disputing a line call with the umpire just as he was serving to take the match into a final set. He won that argument, too. For a 30-year-old who reckons the next 12 months will make or break his career as he attempts his latest comeback from a career-saving shoulder op 18 months ago, it felt simply glorious.
Earlier, Alex de Minaur was not at his very best but still had too much quality for British qualifier Toby Samuel as he launched his French Open bid with a straight-sets stroll in the Paris sunshine. The eighth seed outplayed the British main draw debutant 6-4 6-4 6-2. De Minaur reckoned he had rediscovered his focus and confidence at the Hamburg Open last week after a clay-court slump.
Daria Kasatkina, the newly qualified Australian player, prevailed 6-4 6-4 against Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez. A month after plummeting to her lowest ranking for 11 years, the Paris courts where she enjoyed her best grand slam in reaching the semis in 2022 seemed to again bring the best out of her. However, teenager Emerson Jones found the going too hot as she was given an hour-long lesson on Court Philippe Chatrier by the four-time champion Iga Swiatek, losing 6-1 6-2.
