Thanasi Kokkinakis sends Stefanos Tsitsipas into early exit at US Open

NEW YORK — No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas’s problems at the US Open continued as he suffered a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 first-round defeat to Thanasi Kokkinakis on Tuesday.

After narrowly losing the first set in a tiebreak, Tsitsipas came back to win the second set to level the score, but he appeared to be suffering from a stomach problem.

Tsitsipas, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, has never made it past the third round at Flushing Meadows.

He also struggled in the run-up to the tournament, winning only one of his three matches at the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters.

For Kokkinakis it was his first victory at the US Open since 2019.

“I had a five-set battle with him at the Australian Open a few years ago, and I was expecting a war,” Kokkinakis said in his post-match on-court interview. “It was physical out there, and I tend to sometimes drag these matches out and have really long battles, but I just tried to stay focused, stay the course and just play every point.”

He will then face Nuno Borges or Federico Coria.

Jannik Sinner, the men’s number 1, played his opening match at Arthur Ashe Stadium and won 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 against Mackenzie McDonald.

It was the first time Sinner had taken action since it emerged he had failed two drug tests in March but still avoided a suspension.

No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime was knocked out in the first round by 18-year-old Jakub Mensik, while No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz and No. 30 Matteo Arnaldi were among the winners in the men’s event.

No. 25 Jack Draper advanced to the second round after opponent Zhang Zhizhen was forced to retire in the third set with a left leg injury. The Briton led 6-3, 6-0, 4-0.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.