WATCH: Thanasi Kokkinakis smashes his racket after winning a thrilling tie-breaker against Zizou Bergs in Miami

Thanasi Kokkinakis will play against Hubert Hurkacz in his second-round match in the Miami Open.

WATCH: Thanasi Kokkinakis smashes his racket after winning a thrilling tie-breaker against Zizou Bergs in Miami

Thanasi Kokkinakis (Image Credit: Tennis-Infinity.com)

Thanasi Kokkinakis had to toil hard to win his first-round match against Zizou Bergs in the Miami Open 2023. The emotions were raw when he won the tie-breaker set 9/7 against the Belgian tennis professional. He was so thrilled with his victory that he smashed his racket in the heat of the moment. He won the match 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9/7).

This is the second-time in a row in last two seasons, where he reached the second-round of this competition. However, this time he would be looking to reach the advanced stages of the Miami Open and pose a challenge to the competition.

YouTube video

Meanwhile, American sports broadcaster Tennis TV shared an excerpt of this video on social media.

FS Video

“Smashing your racket…after a win. @TKokkinakis saves three match points to defeat Bergs 4-6 6-3 7-6(7) and reach R2 in Miami, where he will face Hurkacz!” the caption read.

His fans would also like to see some more gutsy performances from Thanasi Kokkinakis as he prepares himself for the greater challenges in the next rounds of this ATP 1000 tournament.

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Thanasi Kokkinakis’s performances this season

Thanasi Kokkinakis (Image Credit: Tennis-Infinity.com)
Thanasi Kokkinakis (Image Credit: Tennis-Infinity.com)

The Australian saw a renaissance of form last season. He early in the year, with Nick Kyrgios won the Australian Open 2022 men’s doubles title. He was also able to make deeper inroads into the tennis tournaments this season. Hence, he expected this season to be the breakthrough year for him.

Thanasi Kokkinakis started his 2023 season by participating in the Adelaide International tournaments. He reached the second-round of the Adelaide International 1 tournament but was knocked out by Jannik Sinner. However, he reached the semi-final round of the Adelaide International 2 tournament but lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in this round.

With renewed confidence he participated in the Australian Open 2023. He reached the second-round of the competition but in a thrilling marathon match against Andy Murray, lost. His next participation in an ATP tournament came in at Dubai Tennis Championships. Here too he was knocked out in the second-round but this time by Borna Coric.

In the Indian Wells Open, he was knocked out by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in his second-round fixture. At Miami Open, now the challenge will be great for him as he will face Hubert Hurkacz. However, the Polish tennis professional too is searching for form. Hence, Thanasi Kokkinakis can fancy his chances in this round of the competition.

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