The clay season has begun with fireworks at the ATP Houston and the Americans who are usually said to be fighting a losing battle on clay courts showed some promise at home. The battle between home favorite Aleksandar Kovacevic and Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis was at its dramatic best.

Following a few debatable calls from the chair going in favor of Kovacevic, an irritated Kokkinakis couldn’t maintain his composure any longer and sent his racket airborne!

Much to Thanasi Kokkinakis’ disappointment, Aleksandar Kovacevic unleashes 14 aces!

The pressure of a high-stakes thrilling three-setter finally got the best of Kokkinakis after a few close calls in the third set went Kovacevic’s way, allowing him to go past a marginally leading Australian. A frustrated Kokkinakis flung his racket a good 15 feet in the air in protest against the chair umpire.

The ex-University of Illinois star fought past Kokkinakis 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 6-4 with bold shotmaking to advance to the second round of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. The local favorite managed to fend off five out of six break points, conceding only one break early in the decisive set. However, Kovacevic mounted a strong comeback, regained his serve, and ultimately shifted the momentum in his favor.

With limited clay-court experience, the 25-year-old stepped onto the court in Houston after only two tour-level matches on the surface. Despite this, he displayed remarkable prowess, winning an impressive 80 percent of first-serve points and unleashing 14 aces throughout the match.

Perhaps fortune does favor the bold in Kovacevic’s mind. In the on-court post-match interview, he explains that this attitude seemed to have paid dividends for him.

‘Go for it’ – Aleksandar Kovacevic

Speaking in his on-court interview, the 25-year-old American showed heart and talked about his bold shot selection, “Go for it. That’s the only thing you can really tell yourself is be brave and in those big moments, kind of just let it ride,” said a tired Kovacevic. He further added, “You don’t want to have regrets afterward that you didn’t go for your shots and let the other guy win.”

The American further says that he kept it simple and did not fret over getting a big result. He says that he was only looking to have a good game in his first match of the clay season.

“I was just trying to get a good performance for my first tournament on clay for this season,” Kovacevic said. “So that’s what I did and whether I won or lost, I was still happy with my performance today.”

Inching past Thanasi Kokkinakis, the American has now lined up a showdown with either the sixth seed Jordan Thompson or the returning Wu Yibing of China.

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