Thanasi Kokkinakis defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas, score, highlights, reaction, what is Australian’s ATP ranking, who does he play next #adessonews

A jubilant Thanasi Kokkinakis has branded his triumph over Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open the best grand slam victory of his career and another indication he is a step closer to delivering on the potential that identified him as a star of the future while a junior.

The 28-year-old South Australian bellowed “Let’s f***ing go” to his supporters box shortly after defeating the dual-grand slam finalist and 11th seed 7-6 (5) 4-6 6-3 7-5, a reaction he later attributed to immense relief given a history of misfortune through his career.

“(It is a) massive relief. (I’m) super happy, super pumped,” he said.

“Obviously, as is documented, I’ve lost some tight ones, but I’m starting to get on the winning end of them now. It is just hard work.

“I’ve always known (and) I’ve shown it before that I’m capable of beating good top 10 players. It’s just trying to be consistent with it, and, yeah, trying to string them together.”

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In assessing the significance of the victory, Kokkinakis said nothing would compare to the thrill of winning a maiden ATP Tour title at home in Adelaide in 2022 after years in the wilderness battling serious injuries and self-doubt.

But he said the elation was comparable to his triumph over then world No.1 Roger Federer in Miami in 2017 and his Australian Open doubles success alongside Nick Kyrgios two years ago.

It is now 11 years since Kokkinakis reached the final of the US Open boys championship when beaten by Borna Coric but in the years since, he had managed just one other victory at Flushing Meadows, that coming back in 2019.

“That one feels like a lifetime ago,” he said.

“There’s just obviously that middle period in between in my career, for five or six years, where I was just pretty much a no show, trying to get back (to the tour) and I couldn’t.

“So it’s good. I’ve never felt like I’ve played my best tennis here, which is surprising, because it should suit me and my game. But I’ve just been training well and I was able to … play somewhat close to the level in training, so that was important.”

Aside from a concentration dip midway through the second set when, after holding a break point for 5-3 lead, he followed with a shocker of a service game, the 28-year-old performed superbly against Tsitsipas.

He thundered serves and crushed forehands, rattling the No.11 seed at times with the power he produced from the baseline. The longer the match went, the more assured he appeared against the Greek star.

Contradicting capacity to topple or threaten the world’s best players has been his ranking, with his inability to string together lengthy periods on tour a reason his career-high is 65.

But it is indisputable the right-hander is now playing his best tennis, particularly in grand slams, and he has moved to 74 on a live estimate.

He was edged in four sets by Grigor Dimitrov in the second round of the Australian Open and then defeated recent Montreal Masters winner Alexei Popyrin at Roland Garros before falling to world No.12 Taylor Fritz in five sets in the third round.

After that match, the leading American declared there is no way the Australian should be ranked outside the top 50, let alone struggling to stay inside the top 100 given the talent he possesses. Should he defeat Portugal’s Nuno Borges, he will be close to setting a new mark.

While a popular player on the tour, Kokkinakis is not certain his rivals are delighted by the quality of play he is producing more regularly and said it was rare that he confided in his peers about some of the struggles he has endured.

“I don’t talk to a whole lot of people on the tour about that sort of stuff. Like, no one wants to hear it, to be honest. No-one’s got time for that. They’re all your competitors,” he said.

“At the end of the day, they’re like, ‘Oh, good to see you back’. But … if you’re a threat to them, then they’re probably not happy to see you back, (though) I’ve obviously got a few mates on tour who aren’t like that. But that’s just how it is. It’s a competitive sport.

“I talk to the people close to me, the people that I trust. Maybe they haven’t been in my position as far as sort of being a good prodigy, and then kind of having it taken away from you a little bit, but just guys I trust and guys that have been around you (who you) can relate to … in all sorts of sorts of experiences of life.”

Kokkinakis, who was forced to withdraw mid-match at Wimbledon with a knee issue after an opening round win over Felix Auger-Aliassime, was incredibly stiff to lose to eventual champion Seb Korda in Washington D.C and then Hubert Hurkacz in Montreal.

Rather than continuing on to Cincinnati and Winston-Salem, he prioritised a training block and believes it held him in good stead for the battle with Tsitsipas.

“I was happy with my tennis, but I knew physically that I was well away from where I needed to be by the time I lost to Hubie in another tiebreak,” he said.

“I had to go and take a flight that night and I would have arrived at 2 or 3am and had to play quallies the next day in Cincinnati. So I thought ‘That’s a recipe for a first round loss’. I’m not doing that. I’m going to go train and get fit.

“I wanted to try and get used to heat and humidity and really feel like I had something under my legs and I think that showed today.”