Melbourne, VIC, 21 January 2025 | Jackson Mansell

There’s no place like home for Tahlia Kokkinis, who drew on the support of a passionate Melbourne Park crowd to claim a three-set victory over Japan’s Kanon Sawashiro in the second round of the AO 2025 girls’ tournament.

The 15-year-old wildcard withstood both a challenging opponent and difficult circumstances to emerge with a 6-2 3-6 6-4 win.

Locked at 4-4 in the final set, with a match time of two hours and 10 minutes, cramp began to restrict Kokkinis. Eight minutes had elapsed in her current service game, placing an insurmountable level of pressure.

A delayed serve-and-volley at deuce gave the teenager her third advantage of the game. It led to raucous applause and a motivated Kokkinis signalling the crowd to add to the noise.

As she later explained, the home support was a factor in her eventual victory, with Kokkinis dropping two more points en route to her maiden third-round appearance at a junior Grand Slam.

WHAT A BATTLE!

Tahlia Kokkinis outlasts Kanon Sawashiro in a three set epic to secure a spot in the third round. pic.twitter.com/cHIw1LcusP

— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) January 21, 2025

“At four-all when I was serving, I won a point and then the crowd just erupted. It was amazing,” Kokkinis said. “I felt this energy and it really inspired me and motivated me, because when you’re feeling really flat and you just hear everyone cheering your name and really loud claps, honestly that helped me.

> READ: Kokkinis upsets 10th seed to reach the second round

“When I have a crowd that supports me, honestly, it’s the greatest feeling I think a tennis player can possibly have and when I see [like with] the pro tennis players and the crowd help me, I didn’t know what that meant until today, and a couple of days ago as well. When you have a crowd behind you, it’s almost an energy boost when you’re feeling flat, and that win was also their win. They really helped me get over the line.”

The girls’ world No.117 recorded her third-straight victory over a top 50 opponent, defeating world No.43 Kanon Sawashiro 6-2 3-6 6-4. It sets up a third-round match with British qualifier Brooke Black, who like Kokkinis has also defeated a top-10 seed this tournament.

> VIEW: Australian Open 2025 girls’ singles draw

“She’s done amazing to get through quallies here, and that’s really tough to do playing all those matches. So I expect a good battle, and I know that she’s an amazing player,” Kokkinis said on her next-round opponent. “I’m just going to give it my all, and hopefully, the crowd can be there and support me, cause that really means a lot to me.”

In other junior matches on Tuesday, Duje Markovina and Ymerali Ibraimi bowed out of the boys’ singles after losing to seeded opponents. Despite their losses, the pair cap off career-best runs at a major.

Emerson Jones also progressed to quarterfinals of the girls’ doubles alongside Brit Hannah Klugman after their super-tiebreak win over Mia Pohankova and Jeline Vandromme.

Aussies in action – Australian Open 

TODAY’S RESULTS

Girls’ singles, second round
[WC] Tahlia Kokkinis (AUS) d Kanon Sawashiro (JPN) 6-2 3-6 6-4

Boys’ singles, second round
[2] Amir Omarkhanov [KAZ] d [WC] Ymerali Ibraimi (AUS) 6-4 6-3
[9] Timofei Derepasko d Duje Markovina (AUS) 6-4 6-4

COMING UP

Girls’ singles, third round
[1] Emerson Jones (AUS) v [Q] Yuliya Perapekhina
[WC] Tahlia Kokkinis (AUS) v [Q] Brooke Black (GBR)

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