Washington DC, 1 August 2023 | Matt Trollope

Washington DC, United States

Thanasi Kokkinakis recovered from a precarious position on Tuesday before storming back to secure his place in the second round in Washington DC.

Kokkinakis was a point away from trailing 6-2 5-2, before turning his match against Taro Daniel around to win 2-6 6-4 6-4.

The win, completed after two hours and 40 minutes on court, sets up a second-round clash with Frenchman Ugo Humbert.

In full swing 🦋@TKokkinakis overcomes Daniel 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 and will face No.13 seed Humbert next!#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/qf6MXRZJv6

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) August 1, 2023

Kokkinakis improves to 28-17 this season after scoring his second gritty win of the North American hard-court swing; last week he came from behind to beat Gael Monfils in a final-set tiebreak in Atlanta.

Another Aussie, Jordan Thompson, joined Kokkinakis in the second round of the ATP 500 event after closing out former world No.5 Kevin Anderson.

Thompson rebounded strongly from the loss of the second set, completing a 6-4 6-7(1) 6-1 win – his 32nd of the season.

Next up, he will play Adrian Mannarino for the third time this year, seeking his first win.

Earlier on Tuesday, countrymen Max Purcell and Aleksandar Vukic both bowed out in the opening round.

In doubles, Australia’s Ellen Perez and American partner Nicole Melichar-Martinez kicked off their Washington DC campaign with a tight win over Anna Blinkova and Varvara Gracheva.

The No.1 seeds have now won 19 matches as a pair in 2023, and progress to the quarterfinals in the US capital.

Aussies in action – Washington DC

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) d Taro Daniel (JPN) 2-6 6-4 6-4
Jordan Thompson (AUS) d [WC] Kevin Anderson (RSA) 6-4 6-7(1) 6-1
(Q) Zachary Svajda (USA) d Max Purcell (AUS) 4-6 7-6(2) 7-5
Brandon Nakashima (USA) d Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 7-6(5) 7-6(9)

Women’s doubles, first round
[1] Ellen Perez (AUS)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) d Anna Blinkova/Varvara Gracheva (FRA) 7-6(3) 5-7 [10-6]

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) v [13] Ugo Humbert (FRA)
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v [7] Adrian Mannarino (FRA)

Women’s doubles, quarterfinals
[1] Ellen Perez (AUS)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) v TBC

Men’s doubles, first round
Matt Ebden (AUS)/Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) v [1] Rajeev Ram (USA)/Joe Salisbury (GBR)

Los Cabos, Mexico

Australians Alex de Minaur and James Duckworth have moved into the last 16 at the ATP 250 event in Los Cabos, Mexico.

De Minaur, the No.5 seed making his Los Cabos debut, saw off Tunisian qualifier Skander Mansouri in a tight two-setter, before Duckworth brushed Finn Otto Virtanen aside in just 51 minutes.

Duckworth has now won three of his past four matches on North American hard courts and will look to carry that momentum into his next match with seventh seed Dominik Koepfer.

De Minaur, fresh off a quarterfinal appearance in Atlanta, next tackles world No.136 Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina.

This is a typically fruitful time in the tennis calendar for De Minaur. The 24-year-old is a two-time Atlanta champion (2019, 2022), Washington DC finalist (2018) and US Open quarterfinalist (2020).

In doubles, Rinky Hijikata shrugged off the disappointment of yesterday’s loss to John Isner, teaming with American William Blumberg to reach the quarterfinals.

Aussies in action – Los Cabos

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
[5] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [Q] Skander Mansouri (TUN) 6-4 6-4
James Duckworth (AUS) d Otto Virtanen (FIN) 6-3 6-0

Men’s doubles, first round
Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/William Blumberg (USA) d Evan King (USA)/Reese Stalder (USA) 6-3 7-6(1)

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
[5] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Thiago Agustin Tirante (ARG)
James Duckworth (AUS) v [7] Dominik Koepfer (GER)

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/William Blumberg (USA) v TBC

Men’s doubles, first round
John Peers (AUS)/Marcelo Melo (BRA) v Andrew Harris (AUS)/Dominik Koepfer (GER)

Kitzbuhel, Austria

Last week’s ATP Umag champion Alexei Popyrin has withdrawn from the clay-court tournament in Kitzbuhel due to a right leg injury.

Popyrin sustained the injury during the third set of the Umag final against Stan Wawrinka.

Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell exited the 250-level tournament in the first round, losing to fifth seed Laslo Djere.

Djere was a finalist last week at the ATP event in Hamburg.

Aussies in action – Kitzbuhel

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
[5] Laslo Djere (SRB) d Christopher O’Connell (AUS) 6-4 7-6(5)

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