Cincinnati Masters: Hurkacz wins marathon match against Kokkinakis, again

Pole Hubert Hurkacz edged out Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (1) to reach the second round of the Cincinnati Masters at the Linder Tennis Family Center on Tuesday evening.

It was Groundhog Day in Cincinnati, with Hurkacz and Kokkinakis again playing an epic three-set match in a Masters 1000, with the Pole coming out on top. Earlier this year in Miami, the pair shared the court for three hours, playing three straight tiebreaks with Hurkacz winning 8-6 in the final breaker.

Fast forward a few months, and it only took two breakers this time, with the two fighting it out for three hours and nine minutes at the Cincinnati Masters. Yet again, Hurkacz had more in the tank, winning the final set tiebreaker 7-1 to seal a berth in the second round.

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Hurkacz, ranked No 20, will face defending champion Borna Coric, the No 15 seed, next.

Cincinnati Masters, other first-round results (Linder Tennis Family Center, hard, USD 6.600.000, most recent results first):

• Mackenzie McDonald vs. Yannick Hanfmann
• Alex De Minaur vs. J.J. Wolf
• Max Purcell (Q) beat Lloyd Harris: 6-4, 6-4
• Lorenzo Sonego beat Alexander Shevchenko (Q): 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
• Gael Monfils beat Cameron Norrie (13): 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
• Lorenzo Musetti beat Daniel Evans: 6-4, 6-3
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry: 6-3, 6-3
• Alexander Zverev (16) beat Grigor Dimitrov: 6-2, 6-2
• Stan Wawrinka (WC) beat Brandon Nakashima (WC): 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3
• Borna Coric beat Sebastian Korda: 7-6 (5), 6-4
• Alexei Popyrin (LL) beat Daniel Altmaier (LL): 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4
• Taylor Fritz (9) beat Jiri Lehecka: 7-6 (14), 6-2
• Tommy Paul (14) beat Miomir Kecmanovic: 7-5, 7-6 (2)
• Ugo Humbert beat Arthur Fils (Q): 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
• Jordan Thompson (Q) beat John Isner (WC): 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2)
• Dusan Lajovic (Q) beat Francisco Cerundolo: 6-3, 6-4
• Emil Ruusuvuori beat Corentin Moutet (Q): 6-4, 6-2
• Nicolas Jarry beat Roman Safiullin: 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
• Felix Auger-Aliassime (12) beat Matteo Berrettini: 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
• Frances Tiafoe (10) beat Tallon Griekspoor: 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-4
• Yoshihito Nishioka beat Gregoire Barrere: 6-4, 7-5
• Adrian Mannarino beat Richard Gasquet: 6-4, 6-3
• Ben Shelton beat Christopher Eubanks: 5-7, 6-4, 6-4