Thanasi Kokkinakis led the home charge on the opening day of Australian Open 2019 qualifying with a battling 6-2 7-6(4) victory over Egyptian Mohamed Safwat.
After racing through the opening set, Kokkinakis continued to push hard as he sprinted to a 4-0 lead in the second before world No.186 Safwat began to test his resolve.
“I feel like I should have done it easier, but he’s a tough player, he’s sneaky good,” said world No.145 Kokkinakis, who initially served for the match at 5-3 in the second set.
“At the start I was playing such a high level; it wasn’t anything flashy, but I made him play a lot of balls.
“I had a lot of chances in the second which I didn’t take; I got a bit nervy at the end. To break a string at match point was pretty frustrating, which was worse after I couldn’t find the court for another three games. In general I kept a solid level and I’ll need that to progress further.”
Kokkinakis reached the main draw second round in 2014 and 2015, but has been blighted by injuries in recent campaigns. However, the Adelaide native is determined to put that behind him and prove his worth at Melbourne Park.
“Qualies is tough, there a lot of good players here. Getting through three matches will not be easy,” said Kokkinakis, who faces Austria’s Sebastian Ofner in the second round.
“I can look ahead sometimes, but I need to take it one match at a time and really focus. If you lose focus it can get yucky.”
Next Gen prodigy Felix Auger-Aliassime clinched a straight sets triumph over Arthur De Greef.
The No.2 seed, currently ranked at world No.106, dominated proceedings to chalk up a 6-2 7-6(1) victory to surge into the second round.
Australian wildcard Alexsandar Vukic fought valiantly but couldn’t quite outlast 17th seed Thiago Monteiro, with the Brazilian claiming the pivotal tie-break to run out as a 3-6 7-6(5) 6-3 winner.
Former world No.5 and 2007 quarter-finalist Tommy Robredo fell at the first hurdle to world No.117 Juan Ignacio Londero. The Argentine wrapped up a 7-5 7-5 win to book a meeting with Oscar Otte.
The 22-year-old hailed a productive off-season for providing the platform for a promising 2019.
“The body is feeling good; I was a bit limited in what I could do in the off-season. It was less on-court specific stuff and more focus on my rehabilitation, trying to get my conditioning up and I think it’s paid off. I think I’ll be playing some great tennis by mid-year,” added the home talent.
“I have a lot of motivation here, but I have to try and find the balance between playing calm and being too fired up. A lot of times I can be very up and down.
“I just need to play my game; I know where my level can be at. I just need to focus and recover, making sure my body is ready for the next one.”
Elsewhere, Australian teenager Rinky Hijikata pushed world No.185 Hiroki Moriya all the way in an enthralling encounter.
The 17-year-old, who practised with Roger Federer on Monday on Rod Laver Arena, couldn’t quite secure a stunning shock with Moriya prevailing 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3 on Court 5.
Gregarious German Dustin Brown fought back from a set deficit to topple 26th seed Carlos Berlocq with a 3-6 6-1 7-5 scoreline.