Home-town favourite Thannasi Kokkinakis has set up a tasty Adelaide International clash with Sebastian Korda on a day of mixed fortunes for Australian hopes.
Kokkinakis, winner of the event three years ago, advanced to the quarter-finals with a gripping 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-4) victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry on his favourite court at Memorial Drive on Wednesday night.
The world No.77 blasted 23 aces and prevailed in a rollercoaster tiebreak to decide a match that lasted more than three hours, eventually sending the eighth-seeded Argentine packing in front of a raucous crowd.
“I don’t love playing anywhere else more than this – you guys are incredible,” Kokkinakis said post-match.
“I knew it was going to be a battle. Tomas is a hell of a player and I thought I was almost a bit lucky to sneak the first set.
“Then, honestly, for the second and third I thought maybe I was on top, but that’s tennis.
“I thought I should’ve lost the first and won the second, but that’s how it is and I knew it was going to be a dog-fight, so I just tried to stay calm and got out of a couple of tricky situations.
“You guys were, again, humongous. I don’t know if I would’ve done it without you.”
Kokkinakis will next face American second seed Korda, who swept aside Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-3 earlier on Wednesday.
With AAP
