After Rinky Hijikata and Alexei Popyrin of Sydney reached the second round of the 2024 United States Open on Monday, six more Australian men reached the second round of the 2024 Australian Open on Tuesday. They were Christopher O’Connell of Sydney, Max Purcell of Sydney, Thanasi Kokkinakis of Adelaide, Tristan Schoolkate of Perth, the 10th seed Alex de Minaur of Sydney, and Jordan Thompson of Sydney.
O’Connell upset the 26th seed Nicolas Jarry of Chile 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. O’Connell broke Jarry four times, while Jarry had seven double faults. O’Connell will now face Mattia Bellucci of Italy for the first time ever.
Purcell beat fellow Australian Aleksandar Vukic of Sydney 7-5, 6-4, 6-3. Purcell broke Vukic four times in nine chances. Vukic beat Purcell earlier this year 6-3, 7-6 in the first round of the Libema Open in the Netherlands. Purcell next faces Tommy Paul of the United States. Paul, the 14th seed, and 2023 Australian Open semifinalist, has never faced Purcell.
Kokkinakis delivered a giganic stunner as he upset the 11th seed and two-time grand slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Kokkinakis had 17 aces. Tsitsipas reached the 2021 French Open final and 2023 Australian Open final. In their only prior meeting, Tsitsipas beat Kokkinakis 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-7, 6-4 in a second round five set thriller at the 2021 Australian Open. In the second round, Kokkinakis will face Nuno Borges of Portugal.
Schoolkate recorded his first grand slam singles win as he beat Taro Daniel of Japan 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-4. Schoolkate had 18 aces compared to eight for Daniel. He will next play Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic.
De Minaur beat American Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. De Minaur had nine aces compared to two for Giron, and broke Giron six times. Giron has beaten de Minaur three of five times. De Minaur’s only other win was a 6-3, 6-0 thumping in the quarterfinals of the 2020 European Open in Belgium. Giron’s wins over de Minaur came at the second round of Indian Wells in 2019 (1-6, 6-4, 6-2), second round of the 2021 Moselle Open in Metz, France (7-5, 7-6), and the second round of the 2021 Sofia Open (7-6, 7-6). de Minaur next faces Otto Virtanen of Finland for the first time.
Thompson steamrolled past Constant Lestienne of France 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. Thompson had nine aces, zero double faults and broke Lestienne six times. Thompson will face Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, the 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist, for the first time in the second round.
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