Thanasi Kokkinakis came from behind to secure a R1 victory at Atlanta Open against Gael Monfils on the Monday night matchup.
Following an array of loose forehand errors in the deciding set tie-break and a consequent racket abuse, the Australian rallied from 0/4 and 3/5 to seal a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory.
“At 0/4 I thought it was pretty much over… From there it’s one point at a time,” Kokkinakis said. “In a tie-break you can go down quickly and can come back quickly. I got a point on his serve and then two on mine and all of a sudden he’s feeling the pressure.
“It was pretty stressful, especially in the first set, which wasn’t much fun He posed a lot of challenges and he is one of the quickest players on tour. I can’t get a ball by him most of the time.”
Monfils was returning from a long break because of the wrist tear he picked in French Open R2 tie opposite Holger Rune. On the other hand, it was Aussie’s first tour level game since he exited the R3 of Paris major. His compatriot Alex de Minaur is waiting for him in the second round.
“Demon and I are good mates. We share Davis Cup together, we train a little bit together,” said the world No. 86. “He’s a hell of a player and he’s leading the way for us Aussies. He’s the defending champion here in Atlanta so he obviously likes the conditions.
“I know it won’t be easy. I practiced with him the other day and he gave me a spanking. It should be a fun match.”
The 27-year old has improved his season numbers to 12-9 while processing a difficult win where he had to maintain first serve in numbers to 76% and also record a win % percentage of same.