ATP Brisbane: Kyrgios blasts 44 aces vs Harrison. Tsonga and de Minaur win
Just like Andy Murray, the 33-year-old Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is using the protected ranking in Brisbane to enter the main draw, making a return after a severe knee injury he suffered last February and just five matches he won in 2018. Things are already looking better for Jo after a 7-6 6-4 victory over a qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis in an hour and 42 minutes. It was the first match between these two and a very tight one, with the Frenchman winning just three points more than his young rival. Thanasi served at 75% and he fought well, losing serve twice from three chances he offered to Tsonga and creating a set point in the tie break.
Jo repelled it and he crossed the finish line first after breaking his opponent two times, breaking back in the very last moment in the opener and securing the win with an early break in set number two. Both players served well in the opening eight games and it was Kokkinakis who drew first blood in the ninth game, breaking for a 5-4 lead before Tsonga pulled it back immediately in the following game to extend his chances in the first part of the match. Nothing could separate them in the tie break as well and Jo saved a set point at 5-6, winning the last three points to steal it 8-6.
The second set was decided in the opening games, with Jo who earned the lead after the very first game, fending off a couple of break points a few minutes later to cement the lead and make a big step towards the win. Thanasi served better in the rest of the set but he failed to create a chance on the return, with Jo closing the match after a deuce in game 10 for his first win since October and four straight losses. In the battle of the most promising Australian players born in 1999, the 7th seed and the last year's semi-finalist Alex de Minaur ousted a qualifier Alexei Popyrin 6-2 6-2 in exactly an hour for the perfect start of the year.
Alex was untouchable on his first serve and he saved three out of four break points to challenge the rival's serve and his ability to deliver the same numbers behind his initial shot. That never happened, though, with Popyrin taking just 45% of the points in his games, getting broken five times and trailing from start to finish against the better-ranked rival who wants to crack the top-20 in the season ahead of us. De Minaur saved three break points in the second game, two with service winner, and he broke at 15 in the following game after a double fault from Alexei.
Alex lost just one point on serve by the end of the set, watched by his mentor Lleyton Hewitt, and he secured another break after a backhand error from Popyrin in game five. Serving for the set at 5-2, de Minaur fired three winners to clinch it in 28 minutes, gathering the momentum and converting the fourth break point at the start of the second set following a forehand error from Alexei. Things went from bad to worse for a former Roland Garros junior champion, getting broken at love in game three to fall further behind before he pulled one break at 1-4 to at least extend the match.
De Minaur won another baseline rally in game seven for his fifth break and he wrapped up the win with three winners in the next game that propelled him into the last 16. In the most exciting match of the day, the defending champion Nick Kyrgios prevailed against the last year's finalist Ryan Harrison 7-6 5-7 7-6 in two hours and eight minutes, firing 44 aces and facing just two break points in the entire match! Harrison played on a very high level as well, repelling all five break points he faced to keep the serve intact and winning the same number of points as Nick.
The Aussie had 70 winners and 33 unforced errors while Ryan added 50 winners and 20 errors, staying in touch with his rival from start to finish and just missing that one last push that would send him over the top. They stayed neck and neck in the opening set after 12 commanding holds and Nick claimed the breaker 7-5 after a forehand down the line winner, needing just 38 minutes to take the first part of the match. Harrison fought off five break points in the closing stages of the second set, including three match points at 4-5 that he erased with winners.
The American was rewarded in the very next game, scoring the only break of the match in the 11th game after a backhand error from Kyrgios and blasting four winners on serve for a 7-5, sending the match into a decider. Nick saved a break point in the third game of the third set with a forehand winner and they both served well until the tie break, which was the best possible way to end this thrilling encounter. Kyrgios was more focused, winning all six points on serve and notching the crucial mini-break in the sixth point before closing the match at 6-5 with a service winner.
First round results:
[PR]Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs [Q]Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)7-6(6) 6-4 Jordan Thompson (AUS) vs [WC]Alex Bolt (AUS) 6-3 6-0 [7]Alex de Minaur (AUS) vs [Q]Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 6-2 6-2 [8]Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs Ryan Harrison (USA) 7-6(5) 5-7 7-6(5) Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 4-6 6-3 6-4 Denis Kudla (USA) vs Taylor Fritz (USA) 7-6(5) 6-7(2) 6-4
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Asrebw
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