Thanasi Kokkinakis has been left reflecting on another frustrating loss to rising British star Jack Draper on what proved a tough day on clay for the Australian men at the Madrid Open.
Kokkinakis was the third Aussie to bite the red dust in Wednesday's first round after losses for Alexei Popyrin and Aleksandar Vukic, but it felt the most exasperating as the resurgent Adelaide player suffered the same fate he experienced in last year's Davis Cup tie in Manchester.
On that occasion, Kokkinakis had also played a fine match, only to lose in a third-set tiebreak to Draper - and this time the 22-year-old Briton again held firm in another close affair to hold off the big-serving Australian 6-3 3-6 7-5 in a high-quality two-hour affair in the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium.
