Cincinnati, OH, USA, 18 August 2015 | AAP/AP

Thanasi Kokkinakis fought off a spirited challenge from Italian Fabio Fognini before advancing to the second round of the ATP Cincinnati Masters on Monday.

The Australian teenager won 4-6 6-2 6-3 win over Italy’s world No.31, his third victory on the trot after coming through two rounds of qualifying.

His potential second-round opponent is compatriot Nick Kyrgios; Kyrgios plays 12th seed Richard Gasquet on Tuesday.

Kyrgios first must avenge his fourth-round Wimbledon loss to Gasquet.

Fellow Australian Bernard Tomic joined Kokkinakis in reaching the second round with a straight-sets win over Sergiy Stakhovsky.

World No.24 Tomic beat Stakhovsky 6-4 6-3 to set up a meeting with another Ukrainian, qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov.

> READ MORE: Tomic opens in Cincinnati with win