Wednesday's Australian Open second-round meeting between Jack Draper and home hope Thanasi Kokkinakis sees two players carrying injuries lock horns for a place in the third round.
Both men came into the opening Grand Slam of 2025 nursing varying degrees of physical problems, and that much was evident in their battling tournament-opening successes.
Match preview
© Iconsport
Draper's second half of 2024 highlighted the two-time ATP Tour champion's ability to overcome on-court adversity, and his first match of 2025 was no different, as the British No. 1 survived a scare to seal a first-round five-set success over Mariano Navone.
The 15th seed lost the first and third sets, leaving him on the brink of exiting early Down Under, only to demonstrate his spirited qualities to win sets four and five and seal a 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2 success over the Argentine.
Draper had skipped the United Cup due to a troublesome hip problem nursed in the off-season, and he admitted to being far from his best in his tournament opener.
With four hours of match practice now under his belt, the 23-year-old looks to build on that success to advance to the third round of the tournament for the first time.
Having exited in round one two years ago and made it to the second round 12 months ago, the Brit now aims to reach the third round at another major apart from the US Open, where he has progressed to the third round or higher on three occasions, including last year's semi-final run.
© Imago
Standing in his path is home hope Kokkinakis, who might have sealed his first-round victory over Roman Safiullin in four sets but did not have it any easier than Draper.
The 28-year-old overcame a first-set setback before roaring back for a 3-6 6-3 6-3 7-6 (5) triumph to advance to the second round Down Under for the sixth time.
The world number 71's sixth appearance at this stage was undoubtedly hard-earned by the one-time ATP Tour champion, who battled shoulder and hip complaints before the Slam and struggled with a troublesome thigh against Safiullin.
Although broken four times by the Russian, Kokkinakis saved a staggering 18 break points, aided by serving a surfeit of aces (23) to bail him out of tight spots.
The 28-year-old credited the crowd for giving him the energy to seal his comeback success over Safiullin in four hours and five minutes and will need the fans to end his second-round hoodoo at the expense of Draper, having failed to progress beyond the second round on home soil in five attempts.
Tournament so far
Jack Draper:
First round: vs. Mariano Navone 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2
Thanasi Kokkinakis:
First round: vs. Roman Safiullin 3-6 6-3 6-3 7-6 [5]
Head To Head
Madrid Masters (2024) - First round: Draper 6-3 3-6 7-5
Los Cabos (2024) - Round of 32: Kokkinakis 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4
Davis Cup (2023) - Round Robin: Draper 6-7(6) 6-3 7-6(4)
Although Draper leads their head-to-head record 2-1 ahead of their fourth meeting on the ATP Tour, every encounter with Kokkinakis has been tight and has gone to a deciding set.
They face off in a Grand Slam for the first time, with the Australian having home advantage.
Wednesday will be the players' third meeting on hard courts, with previous meetings split 1-1.
We say: Draper to win in four sets
It will be fascinating to see how much more punishment Kokkinakis's body can take before and during his second-round match with Draper.
The Australian's superior match sharpness this year should stand him in good stead to a point, but he could ultimately fall short against an opponent versed in winning ugly and battling through adversity.
