By Erik Gudris | Monday, January 19, 2015
Nick Kyrgios, along with several other Aussie men, posted dramatic wins to reach the Australian Open second round.
Photo Credit: Corleve
Australian tennis fans had plenty to cheer about on day one at the Australian Open as several local favorites advanced into the second round in dramatic style.
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Nick Kyrgios, Australia's No. 1, lived up to the advanced hype and pressure placed on his young shoulders as he faced off against Federico Delbonis in their opening round match.
But a lingering back issue for Kyrgios almost derailed his chances right from the start. In the first set, Kyrgios needed a medical time out for his back but was able to continue.
The young Aussie star proceeded to grit out a tough five-set win 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 win in over three hours.
"Yeah, that was massive. Obviously I haven't played a lot of competitive tennis in the past couple months due to injury. It was really good to get my first win again. It was my first win in 2015, Australian Open. I'm really pleased I got through. I'm really happy the way I pulled up, as well," Kyrgios said as he reflected on the win that sets up him to face Ivo Karlovic next.
As Kyrgios was playing his match, another Aussie hopeful was involved in his own dramatic five set.
18-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis got himself embroiled in a back and forth battle with No. 11 seed Ernests Gulbis. Both men would take the lead throughout the match. That was until Gulbis would hold four match points late in the fourth set.
Kokkinakis fought back to force a deciding a fifth set that went the distance until the young Aussie secured the 5-7, 6-0, 1-6, 7-6(2), 8-6 victory for the biggest win of his career.
That prompted Kokkinakis to enjoy this victory lap walk surrounded by a raucous local crowd.
Kokkinakis later discussed how important this win over Gulbis is for his confidence.
"A lot of matches last year I was winning a set against these good players, but never able to finish the match through. I'm really happy with how I stuck together. Even though I thought for a lot of the period of that time I wasn't playing my best tennis, I found a way to kind of get the points there, the games I needed to."
Earlier in the day, Australia's Bernard Tomic enjoyed a better time in his first round match at Melbourne than he did last year. Tomic defeated Germany's Tobias Kamke in four sets 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-2.
Tomic earned criticism last year for withdrawing in the first set during his opening round match against Rafael Nadal. But with his win on Monday, Tomic is only looking ahead..
"Yeah. Obviously, last year, it's been one year since withdrawing to Rafa after the first set. It brings back a lot of memories. For me to win today, it's huge. Everything is a plus. I'm feeling great. The crowd was supporting me a lot. It was a good atmosphere out there. I enjoyed myself a lot. I played good. Now I have to tomorrow prepare and recover."
Australians James Duckworth and Sam Groth also won on Monday to reach the second round.