Vukic ousts seeded Korda to reach Open third round
Source: Tennis TV
Unheralded Australian Aleksandar Vukic has pulled off the greatest victory of his career, stunning Sebastian Korda in a rain-affected five-set marathon to reach the third round of a major for the first time.
The match lasted three hours and 17 minutes but with play stopped twice, and suspended midway through the second set due to heavy rain in Melbourne, the drama stretched beyond six hours on Wednesday.
World No.68 Vukic was leading 22nd seed Korda 6-4 2-4 before the rain stoppage and ultimately prevailed 6-4 3-6 2-6 6-3 7-5 on Kia Arena.
The 28-year-old earned the key break of serve in the decider at 5-5 and finished the Australian Open match off with a thumping ace.
“Let’s freaking go. Come on!” Vukic said in his on-court interview.
“I’ve had a few good wins but that one in a grand slam, in a five-setter, is really nice.
“It’s so good to win in five sets. It’d be nice to win in three, but winning in five in Australia, I’m tired but I’m pretty awake as well. So I’ll take it.”
Asked if it was the best win of his career, Vukic said: “I think so. I think in terms of the situation, in terms of the atmosphere, in terms of everything.
“I think being down two sets to one against a great player in Korda, and fighting back when things weren’t looking too good for me then and making my first third round.
“It’s got to be the best or one of the best, for sure.”
The breakthrough at a grand slam is particularly special for the 28-year-old.
“It’s always kind of like, I think I can do better than second round,” he said.
“I was like, I don’t want to just make second round. I want to do more.
“I don’t want to just settle for that.”
He will play 15th seed Jack Draper in the third round after the Englishman outlasted Thanasi Kokkinakis over five sets.
Kokkinakis: ‘Future looks bleak’
A seething Kokkinakis described his ongoing pectoral muscle issues as “physical and mental torture” after losing his five-set epic.
The 28-year-old was just one service game away from making the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time, but 15th seed Jack Draper rallied to win 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 3-6 7-5 6-3 in four hours and 35 minutes – the longest match of the tournament so far.
Kokkinakis served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set when the win-predictor gave him a 95 per cent chance of victory, but the Brit instead won the next three games.
The Australian was struggling physically all night against Draper. He later revealed he wouldn’t have been able to play his next match even if he had made it through to face fellow Australian Aleksandar Vukic.

An ongoing pectoral muscle issue cut Kokkinakis down. Photo: AAP
An emotional Kokkinakis said he took a “million painkillers” to play at his home slam after pulling out of the Adelaide International last week due to a “crazy amount” of scar tissue in his pec.
“I knew after [the Open] I had some serious decisions to make, and I’m going to miss some time,” he said.
“I just tried to kind of empty the tank for this week and see what I can do. I’ve tried to sort it out for years manually, without surgery, just trying to do what I can.
“It’s the reason why I can’t back up big matches. My whole body is fine. It’s just the same injury that I worked so hard on to try to get right.”
The injury-prone right-hander is in his ninth Open campaign after first playing singles at Melbourne Park back in 2014 as a 17-year-old.
He has made the second round six times without ever making it any further.
The Adelaide battler’s injury will almost certainly mean he will withdraw from his highly-anticipated doubles match with Nick Kyrgios on Thursday.
The pair famously won the doubles title together at the Australian Open in 2022.