ATP Tour

Kokkinakis, World No. 855 after injury woes, wins 4-hour Roland Garros opener

Thanasi Kokkinakis’ reaction said everything on Monday afternoon at Roland Garros.

After battling back from a break down in the deciding set to defeat home favourite Terence Atmane in a gruelling four-hour, 18-minute epic, the Australian collapsed onto the Parisian clay. It was more than just a first-round win.

With his 6-7(5), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory, Kokkinakis secured a win in only his third tournament since last year’s Australian Open, underlining the magnitude of his achievement after the injury struggles he has undergone in recent years.

“To come back after such little tennis on a Grand Slam stage and in these conditions against a good player from France, it's probably my best mental effort considering where I was,” Kokkinakis said. “Even a few days ago there were talks that I wasn't sure if I'd play. I had some people flying in, and I told them to stay home, because I didn't want to play a few games and for something to go bad, to be honest.

“I was very scared, very nervous to go out there, but when I got going, I just played on energy.”

Kokkinakis has slipped to No. 855 in the PIF ATP Rankings after undergoing major pectoral surgery in February last year. The Australian did not compete for 11 months before returning this January, when he won a match in Adelaide but withdrew ahead of his second-round clash.

Kokkinakis later featured in doubles at the Australian Open, but did not step back onto the court again until earlier this month at an ATP Challenger event in Zagreb. Although he won both of his qualifying matches, the former World No. 65 withdrew before his first-round main-draw match.

Any lingering doubts about his fitness heading into the season’s second major were answered in dramatic fashion in Paris. Kokkinakis produced a stirring comeback to claim just his second tour-level victory of 2026.

In his first match against Atmane, Kokkinakis looked on the verge of defeat when he trailed 4-1 in the fifth set. But the Australian refused to yield, storming back and breaking the Frenchman when he served for the match at 5-4 before completing a remarkable turnaround. Kokkinakis will next face former World No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta.