After more than four-and-a-half hours of gruelling combat, Thanasi Kokkinakis arrived at match point against Stan Wawrinka in their second-round match at Roland Garros.
Leading 5-3, 40-0 in the fifth set, Kokkinakis slotted a serve and played out a six-shot rally – which Wawrinka terminated with a backhand winner down the line.
The crowd roared. And everybody wondered if Kokkinakis’ lead would evaporate, especially as scores tightened to deuce and four match points came and went.
They wondered this because it had happened before. Kokkinakis led Andy Murray by two sets to love and 5-2 at the same stage of the Australian Open earlier this year, only to lose in five titanic sets.
In the wee hours of Thursday morning in Australia, Kokkinakis’ friend and frequent doubles partner, Nick Kyrgios, tweeted what many other Aussies were quite probably thinking.
“Going to bed, I don’t want to wake up and see Kokki lose another thriller please,” he wrote.
Kokkinakis, it turned out, was thinking similarly.
Going to bed, I don’t want to wake up and see Kokki lose another thriller please ☹️
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) May 31, 2023
“I was, like, oh, no, it's happening again,” said Kokkinakis, who ultimately closed out a 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 triumph after four hours and 38 minutes.
“The Murray match came into my mind. The (Hubert) Hurkacz one (at the Miami Open in March) when I had five match points or whatever and didn't take it… I can already imagine what the journos are going to tweet. I was, like, just keep it in, just try and focus.
“The film wasn't going very well at the start (Kokkinakis trailed by a set and a break) so I wasn't enjoying the movie too much.
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“I just tried to find a way… then when he was coming back in the fourth, and the crowd was going nuts, I was, like, 'oh, God, it's one of these ones again'.
“I feel like I've got a lot of dramatic matches. It's probably my fault that I can't put them away earlier or a testament to these guys that I'm playing. They're just legends, so they make it really tough on you.
“Definitely a pretty crazy ending. But, yeah, I'm happy with how this movie ended in that match.”
With the win, Kokkinakis progresses to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in eight years.
The only other time was in 2015, at the same tournament, when Kokkinakis was a teenager – the same year he would hit a peak ranking of world No.69.
The intervening period is well documented, a time when he was affected by a disheartening assortment of injuries and illnesses that corrupted his confidence, momentum and faith in his body.
More recently, he has rebuilt both himself and his place in the game, returning to that career-high ranking in July last year and enjoying an year-long uninterrupted stint as a top-100 player.
Now, he is enjoying success again on one of the biggest stages of all.
“I’ve had a pretty crazy story. I came onto the scene pretty young, I was looking like I was going to have a big future, then I sort of went missing for the last sort of five years after that,” Kokkinakis said on court.
The now 27-year-old opened up further in his subsequent press conference. “I hit an age where I thought about quitting pretty early on. I think I was 21 or 22,” he revealed.
“Then played a couple of matches and tried to look back on the good moments and wins that I had in the past and kind of used those to fuel me.
“There's a lot of dark days, but winning those matches in those atmospheres is what makes it worth it. I've missed a lot of opportunities in the past due to injury and other stuff. But I've still got a bit of my career left, so I'm going to try to make the most of it while I can.
“I should have been in the third round of Australia, but that's tennis. That's what happens. I put myself in my other position here.
“I've been playing consistently for a couple of years now again, and I just made a pledge to myself to try and play full schedule. Only 15 tournaments last year, and I reached my career high that I had when I was I feel like a baby.
“I'm really going to try and make a push this year and see how well I can do. Who knows if I pass it?
“(At) least I'm going to give myself a chance.”
With Kokkinakis beating 20th seed Dan Evans and 2015 champion Wawrinka already in Paris, another tough opponent looms in Karen Khachanov.
The Russian, seeded No.11, has reached the semifinals at the past two majors and is enjoying a resurgent 12 months.
With all the experience and perspective gained along the way to this point, Kokkinakis is realistic, but remains open-minded, as to what could come next.
“I saw my draw. I knew it was tough. It doesn't get much easier from now,” he said.
“The names you have to kind of beat to progress, it's just crazy how guys like Djokovic and Nadal have won 20 of these (major tournaments).
“This stuff is so hard, to be honest. To try and win five sets is brutal. It's a pain, especially on clay. It's a massive relief, and then you're, like, 's***, hang on, I have to go again in two days'.
“I don't know how good I can be or what I can do. I'm not trying to put a limit on myself, but what I do know is that I'm going to give myself every chance and see what I can get to.”