Thanasi Kokkinakis said he couldn’t speak after getting the win for Australia (Image: Tennis Channel)
Thanasi Kokkinakis admitted he “couldn’t speak” after upsetting during Australia’s Davis Cup Finals tie against the USA.
The world No. 77 was the underdog coming into the first singles rubber of their quarter-final tie but he stormed through the opening set before being taken to a decider.
There, Kokkinakis outlasted the American ace in a tiebreak that lasted just under 20 minutes, saving four match points to ger Australia on the board with a 6-1 4-6 7-6(14) win.
Australia faced the USA on day three of the Davis Cup Malaga. It promised to be a blockbuster quarter-final tie with both teams boasting top singles players and elite doubles teams.
There was some surprise when Kokkinakis and Shelton were picked to play the No. 2 singles rubber despite being the third-ranked players on their teams, with the likes of Alexei Popyrin and Tommy Paul also available to play.
But it ended up being the right decision as they produced a thriller. Kokkinakis stormed through the opening set in just 23 minutes for the loss of just one game but Shelton refused to go down without a fight and took the second.
The first match eventually went down to a final set tiebreak, where the Aussie took an early mini-break lead. Shelton got back on serve but a costly mistake gave Kokkinakis his first two match points.
Ben Shelton lost the first singles rubber of the USA’s tie against Australia (Image: Getty)
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But he couldn’t take them and both men continued to hold serve as match points came and went. Finally, after 19 minutes, Kokkinakis got the job done on his seventh match point, winning the tiebreak 16-14 to put Australia ahead. It was the joint-sixth longest tiebreak in Davis Cup history.
Afterwards, he said: “Oh man, I don’t know if I’ve been that pumped up in my life. I wanted that one bad, I wanted to help my team. I came out playing unbelievable, I thought the second set I was a little bit unlucky but I thought I was playing good tennis throughout. Could’ve gone either way towards the end, that’s tennis, but I kept my nerve and I really wanted to win for the boys.”
As he reflected on their epic tiebreak, the 28-year-old found himself lost for words. “It was tough, we were both serving well. I thought I only got probably tight on one shot, I had a little backhand there on match point where I was just a bit hesitant on,” he continued.
“Apart from that I didnt have many chances to do anything, he was serving incredible. One or two points here or there, I kept – I can’t even speak. I’m happy.”
The victory is extra special for Kokkinakis given that it comes in an team tournament. He added: “It’s a massive win for me. You know, every match has its own special sort of moments but to play not only for myself for the boys out there, Lleyton showed faith in me.
“Everyone’s come from Australia to try and get the boys in the best possible shape. We’ve got a lot of great players on the bench as well so anyone could’ve played but I just wanted to give it my all. I never know how I’m going to play, if I play well or not, but I just want to give it my all and give myself a chance.”
Top 10 players Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz will now go head-to-head in the second singles rubber. It comes exactly one week after Fritz came from a set down to beat the Australian in their round-robin match at the ATP Finals to get out of the group.
It’s a must win match for Fritz to keep the USA alive in the Davis Cup Finals. If they go to a decisive doubles clash, Olympic doubles champion Matthew Ebden will team up with Jordan Thompson for Australia while the USA will be represented by silver medallists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.