In almost three hours and 15 minutes, Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner outlasted Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis 6–7 (9), 6–4, 7–6 (6) on Tuesday in first-round action at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
On his 21st birthday, Sinner recovered after losing a lengthy first-set tiebreak in which he saved three set points and led 9–8 before losing the final three points to Kokkinakis.
“In the beginning I was not playing so well or feeling the ball so well,” Sinner said. “I tried to be a little bit more aggressive, which I had to do because Thanasi is a very attacking player. Let’s take the positives out of this match, and hopefully in the next round I can play also at a higher level.”…