Australians performing well on hard court in scorching weather, must be January, right? Well actually, a trio of men from down under are progressing in the States, with Marinko Matosevic, James Duckworth and Thanasi Kokkinakis still alive and kicking in their respective tournaments.
Matosevic is enjoying the best year of his career, and at 28 years old has a positive season record at ATP level for the first time, sitting at 17-16. He is currently plying his trade in Atlanta at the BB&T Open, where straight sets wins over Estrella Burgos and Smyczek see him gearing up for a clash with US no. 1, John Isner. The pair have met once, at Madrid this year, on clay, with Isner snagging the only break of the match to win 7-6(9) 6-7(5) 7-5. This marks Marinko’s fifth quarter-final appearance of the year as he searches for a maiden 2014 semi-final berth. Three times “Mad-dog” has progressed beyond the quarter-final stage of an ATP tournament, and all three have come in America (Delray Beach ’12, L.A ’12 and Memphis ’13), so there is certainly something about the conditions that suit the Australian. Isner at his home tournament is certainly a tall order, but with wins over Cilic and Tsonga in the past six weeks, Matosevic will be up to the challenge. Isner looked vulnerable on serve against Ginepri in his second round match, being forced to save two match points, so an upset is certainly a realistic chance – something Matosevic will have on his mind.
The Lexington Challenger has also provided an opportunity for some lesser-known Australians to perform. James Duckworth and Thanasi Kokkinakis are both through to the quarters of the Kentucky tournament after winning their opening two matches. Duckworth has had success at this event in the past, losing in the final last year (to James Ward), and the quarters in 2012. He was up against it in the first round, taking three sets to dispatch of Eric Quigley, 7-6(5) 3-6 7-5, with 35 aces served by the pair. His second round opponent was fellow Australian, Jordan Thompson, with Duckworth defeating his compatriot 6-4 6-4. The quarter-finals pit him against Chase Buchanan, an Ohio native, with this their second meeting. Duckworth defeated Buchanan at the US Open qualifying back in 2012, 7-5 7-5. Buchanan took care of another Australian – Matt Reid – in the second round here, winning 4-6 6-2 6-3 after winning his first round match in three sets also, over fellow American, Rhyne Williams.
Unlike good friend, Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis hasn’t had the same breakout tournament yet, with the 18 year-old ranked just inside the top 250, however there is no doubt he has the ability to match it with his higher-ranked compatriot. He made the decision to return to Australia in early June to focus on his studies for a few weeks, showing his level-headedness, and since travelled to the US, with the aim of qualifying at Flushing Meadows. The Australian is competing in his eleventh career Challenger event, with this already his third quarter-final experience. His best Challenger tournament was on the clay courts of Heilbronn this year, where he made the semi-finals as a qualifier, losing to Jan-Lennard Struff.
He reached this stage at Lexington by defeating the Brit, Daniel Smethurst, and Marius Copil of Romania, the latter in three sets. He made the quarters at Binghampton last week and looks at home on hard courts. He faces Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium for a spot in the semis, with the left-hander coming off a couple of long three-setters against Jarmere Jenkins and Yuichi Sugita. Kokkinakis would fancy his chances of progressing into the semis and getting one step closer to a top 200 ranking.
Australia now have six males, including Matosevic, in the top 100, and with more youngsters like Duckworth and Kokkinakis performing well, we could well be seeing the Aussies raise the Davis Cup in the near future.