Thanasi Kokkinakis admits he'd already accepted defeat in another of his grand slam marathons until he conjured up some late-night resolve to outlast his crestfallen pal Alexei Popyrin at the French Open.
In a five-set, delayed day-time all-Aussie epic that lasted so long the night session was already finished by the time it concluded at 11.37pm on Tuesday, weary Kokkinakis joked the nerve-shredding, roller-coaster of a first-round match had taken years off his life.
But after beating his hitting partner and stablemate Popyrin 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 5-7 6-3 in a near four-and-a-half hour high-quality slog, he admitted how difficult it had been to beat such a good friend.
