Experience overcame youth at the Brisbane International on Tuesday night as veteran Lleyton Hewitt defeated teenage Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis in a first round match.
Hewitt, playing in Brisbane for the second straight year, claimed the victory 6-3 7-5 but was given a good test by Kokkinakis in a match that lasted one hour and 40 minutes at Pat Rafter Arena.
The win means Australian No.2 Hewitt will now play Spanish sixth seed Feliciano Lopez in the second round, the same stage where he bowed out to Denis Istomin in last year’s tournament.
Kokkinakis, the world No.628 playing in his first ATP Tour match, showed few nerves against two-time grand slam winner Hewitt after earning a spot in the main draw via qualifying.
The 17-year-old mixed the good with the bad in the opening set, drilling six aces to Hewitt’s two but also committing five double faults as he lost his last two service games to drop the first set in 49 minutes.
Rather than wilt, Kokkinakis responded well, breaking Hewitt’s serve in the third game of the second set.
But when Hewitt broke back to level the set at 5-all, the teen’s spirit appeared to go with it and the world No.60 rounded out the win in the next two games to advance.
Earlier, Australian Matthew Ebden made short work of American Alex Kuznetsov to win through to the second round.
In his first ATP main draw match since early July, South African-born, Western Australia-based Ebden blew away lucky loser Kuznetsov 6-3 6-4 in just 72 minutes.
The 26-year-old is assured of a tougher workout in the second round – he booked a clash with second seed Kei Nishikori of Japan.
Ebden is already guaranteed an Australian Open main draw place alongside Davis Cup teammates Bernard Tomic, Lleyton Hewitt and Marinko Matosevic.
Ebden was supposed to take on fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios in the first round before the 18-year-old withdrew on Monday night with a shoulder injury.
The top-ranked Australian junior this year, Kyrgios still hopes to play at the Australian Open.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Nicolas Mahut and Jeremy Chardy both posted wins to set-up an all-French second round clash while another Frenchman, third seed Gilles Simon, will play Romania’s Marius Copil after he eliminated Japan’s Yuichi Sugita in three sets.
Top seed and world No.6 Roger Federer made his first appearance on Pat Rafter Arena ahead of Wednesday’s singles match against Jarkko Nieminen, combining with Mahut to win a doubles clash with Holland’s Jean-Julien Rojer and Romania’s Horia Tecau.
Tuesday’s action wraps up with Victorian Samuel Groth taking on American qualifier Ryan Harrison.
