Thanasi Kokkinakis charges the net before he attempted to charge Ryan Harrison.
Pete Ziebron Images
In a match that lasted one minute shy of three hours, Thanasi Kokkinakis ended a 4 match losing streak and defeated Ryan Harrison 75 36 76(2) last night in Cincinnati.
- The match was chippy and lippy throughout as both players expressed their displeasure with nearly everything, including: unused cameras on the court, line umpires, loud Bob Marley tunes from the concourse, fireworks exploding in the 3rd set from nearby Kings Island amusement park, several line calls that were overruled, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani and each other.
Late in the first set, Ryan Harrison ran into a covered and unmanned camera behind the baseline and started to push the camera away. He then turned and looked to Lahyani and told him that the equipment was too close to play and that it had to be moved off court. Lahyani agreed and the camera was indeed relocated off the court at the next changeover.
Each player held serve during the first 10 games of the match. However, Kokkinakis broke through on the Harrison service game when Harrison held a 30-15 lead. Kokkinakis promptly won the next 3 points to edge ahead 6-5. It was in this game that tempers started to flare between the players and the chair.
Lahyani overruled a Harrison second serve that was called out and Kokkinakis started to argue with Lahyani claiming that this was the second time in the match that he had been "screwed" on an overrule. "You're screwing me, every time you do this to me on the big points. Stop doing this to me." said Kokkinakis. Harrison then had words for Kokkinakis, telling him that he had been fortunate with calls in the match. Two points later, Kokkinakis broke to take the lead.
As both players sat down on the changeover, they both started to argue with Lahyani about line calls. Following the break, Kokkinakis jumped to a 30-0 lead but Harrison was able to win the next two points taking it to 30 all. Kokkinakis then hit an ace and then closed out the set a point later. However, after Harrison sat down on the changeover, Kokkinakis continued towards Harrison in charge fashion as Lahyani flew down the stairs of his chair to intercept Kokkinakis.
A few minutes elapsed as Lahyani needed to cool down Kokkinakis. Finally, Kokkinakis left the court for a toilet break, however a seated Harrison started to unleash a verbal barrage of unkind words to Kokkinakis as he left the court.
At 1-1 in the second set, Harrison did well to dig out of a 15-40 hole and also needed to save another break point in the game before holding. Similarly, Kokkinakis also went down 15-40 in his next service game, throwing in 2 double faults in the process. In impressive fashion, Kokkinakis then won the next 4 points to square the set at 2 all.
It was at this time that Bob Marley tunes started to be heard loudly and clearly on Court 3. Ryan Harrison was not amused and told Mohamed Lahyani that it needed to stop. Lahyani got on the walkie talkie to make the request and the party at the bar outside of Court 3 would need to continue sans reggae.
Meanwhile, back at the match, once again at 3-3, Harrison fell behind 15-40 before winning the next 4 consecutive points to jump ahead 4-3. That particular game seemed to rattle Kokkinakis a bit as he was not happy that he was unable to break. Sure enough, despite winning the opening point of the 8th game of the set, Kokkinakis dropped the next 4 and Harrison would serve to level the match at a set a piece.
Ryan Harrison would win the next game, hitting his 5th ace of the match in the process. Despite having all of the momentum, immediately following the game, Harrison left the court for a toilet break.
The extended break allowed Kokkinakis to refocus and he dropped only 1 point in his next 2 service games, while also breaking Harrison in the second game of the 3rd set to storm to a 3-0 lead. Harrison then held comfortably to get on the board. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Kokkinakis dropped 4 consecutive points while leading 40-15 in the game and 3-1 in the match. Harrison pounced on the opportunity to level the match in his next service game and the next thing anyone in Stadium Court 3 knew, we were 3-3 in the 3rd set.
At this time, both players would be disturbed for the next 10 minutes by the sound of fireworks from Kings Island amusement park across Interstate 71. It reminded me of when the Australian Open pauses as fireworks are exploded in honor of Australia Day. On this day, neither Kokkinakis nor Harrison were amused with the added distraction.
Later in the set, Ryan Harrison was given an unsportsmanlike conduct warning as he childishly stuck out his tongue at Lahyani following an overrule that went against him. Harrison laughed it off, surprised that he was given the warning and told the chair that he was joking. The incident did seem to loosen Harrison up a bit on court following the series of events. Shortly thereafter, an overrule went against Kokkinakis and he looked up at his box saying "I'm trying. For what? For what?"
After a comfortable hold by Kokkinakis, Harrison got down 15-40 before digging out yet again by winning the next 4 points to square the set at 4 all. Since getting broken at 3-1, Kokkinakis lost only 2 points in his next service game and led 6-5.
Meanwhile, Harrison fell behind 0-30 while serving to stay in the match, before he banged out a pair of aces en route to winning the next 4 points to take the match to a third set tiebreaker.
Kokkinakis got things started in the breaker winning the opening point and Harrison followed suit, taking a 2-1 lead. However those would be the only points in the breaker that Harrison would win. Lahyani overruled a second serve by Kokkinakis that appeared to be long. For over a minute, Harrison pleaded his case with the chair but to no avail. Kokkinakis hit an ace , won the next point, took both points on Harrison's serve to lead 5-2 and then Thanasi Kokkinakis closed out the match with a pair of aces to advance.
The tempers between the players would flare yet again at the net as they shook hands but needed to be restrained by Lahyani and an ATP official. Harrison said to Kokkinakis "I said good match, don't say another word to me."
As he left the court, Kokkinakis, explaining to his box what had occurred at the net at the handshake, mouthed the words to his box about Harrison: "He's a F***** wanker. He's a F****** wanker." Kokkinakis will play Marsel Ilhan of Turkey today for a place in the main draw.
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