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A third-set fightback proved to be a false dawn for Thanasi Kokkinakis, who has been eliminated from the US Open in the first round by world No.237 Yu Hsiou Hsu.
Kokkinakis, ranked 78th, went two sets down at Flushing Meadows before recovering to take the third but ultimately fell 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
It meant Chris O’Connell remains the only Australian winner so far on day two after he crashed Max Purcell’s party in the pair’s all-Australian first-round shootout in New York.
Purcell had been riding high after reaching his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in Cincinnati, but O’Connell upset the world No.43 to set up a second-round shot at third-seeded former champion Daniil Medvedev.
O’Connell prevailed 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) in a two-hour, 52-minute battle between the two in-form Sydneysiders.
O’Connell is also enjoying a breakout season, the 29-year-old now projected to climb to a career-high No.61 in the world after also making a run to the last 32 at Wimbledon.
Christopher O’Connell will face former champion Daniil Medvedev in the second round at Flushing Meadows.Credit: Getty
“I know Max really well, I’ve known him since he was eight,” he said. “I’ve seen him develop over the years and of late he has been playing some unbelievable tennis.
“There’s a load of Australians in the top 100 at the moment, a lot of Australians playing slams so you are bound to draw one now and then.
“Unfortunately I drew Max but at the same time you look at it there’s going to be an Australian through to the second round and that is always a positive.
“So once the first point is played I just feel all that goes out the window. I just look across the net and he is just another tennis player from my point of view.”
Medvedev conceded only two games in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 first-round rout of Hungary’s Attila Balazs.
But the 2021 US Open champion holds no fears for O’Connell ahead of their showcourt match-up on Friday (AEST).
“That’s going to be exciting,” O’Connell said. “We had a tight battle this year in Doha, I feel I’ve got a good game style to maybe cause him some trouble. It was very close in Doha.
“I am sure he has a good idea of what I am going to bring and I’m going to play similar to how I did in Doha.
“But he is a top, top player so I am sure he is probably going to change a little bit from that match.”
Max Purcell went into the all-Australian clash as the higher-ranked player but lost a tight four-set encounter.Credit: Getty
Four more of his countrymen joining Purcell in crashing out.
Aleksandar Vukic went out 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to German 12th seed Alexander Zverev, while James Duckworth, a qualifying lucky loser who gained a late reprieve into the main draw, lost 6-4, 7-6 (13-11), 6-3 to Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves.
Jason Kubler retired injured while trailing Italian Matteo Arnaldo 6-3, 1-0 before Kokkinakis’ loss.
World No.13 Alex de Minaur and Jordan Thompson also feature in first-round action on Wednesday (AEST).
AAP
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