Kokkinakis stuns Tsitsipas in massive US Open upset

Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis has produced a massive upset to down No.11 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open in New York on Wednesday (AEST).

The 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory is the Aussie’s biggest win at a major, and puts him through to the second round where he will face Portugal’s Nuno Borges.

The victory has seen Kokkinakis’s odds sliced from 300-1 to 200-1 at Neds.com.au to win the US Open, a market which Tsitsipas was sitting at around 40-1 for pre-tournament.

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Kokkinakis and Tsitsipas had played once previously at a grand slam, with the Greek prevailing in five sets.

This time, however, Kokkinakis exacted his revenge, overcoming $3.40 underdog odds at most tennis bookmakers to win the match in four sets.

Relief for Kokkinakis in New York

Speaking after his win over Tsitsipas, Kokkinakis shared that his primary emotion was that of relief, having failed to close out similar matches in the past.

“I have a tendency to sometimes drag these matches on,” the 28-year-old explained.

“I tried to stay focused and stay the course. I tried to play every point.

“I had a lot of tight losses when I’ve been in winning positions.

“That was just all relief and mental I would say.”

Kokkinakis played aggressive tennis to oust the world No.11, striking 47 winners to 46 unforced errors and breaking Tsitsipas’s serve on four occasions.

He also served well, winning 78 percent of first serve points and landing 17 aces across the course of the three-hour, 54-minute match.

“Four hours in extreme heat against one of the best players in the world,” Kokkinakis shared in his post-match interview.

“Hell of a player. I had a five-set battle with him a couple years ago at the Australian Open.

“I was expecting a war. It was physical out there.

“You guys (the crowd) were unbelievable. He’s 11 in the world and I felt all the support.”

Kokkinakis now has an opening to make one of his best runs at a Grand Slam, with PlayUp putting him at $1.72 to beat Borges in the second round.

Auger-Aliassime also upset on day two

The other big upset of day two at the US Open was Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who crashing out of the tournament at the hands of Jakub Mensik.

Seeded No.19, Auger-Aliassime was in good form, having just made the round of 16 in Cincinnati 10 days ago.

However, big-hitting 18-year-old Mensik capitalised on Auger-Aliassime’s 36 unforced errors, racing past the Canadian in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and three minutes.

“It’s difficult to accept today because the week of preparation was good,” Auger-Aliassime said.

“Everything was looking good. Just so unexpected.

“I didn’t panic, but I couldn’t find any way to feel good out there.”

Mensik now faces Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate in the second round, who came from two sets down to defeat Taro Daniel in his opener.
Mensik is a $1.20 favourite to win with the Boombet bookmaker.

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