Sleep-deprived local hero Kokkinakis reaches Adelaide semi-finals

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.

Thanasi Kokkinakis is on a roll again at the Adelaide International 2 where the hometown hero and defending champion marched into the semi-finals on just two hours' sleep.

The Australian wildcard saw off Serbian sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 on Thursday to set up a semi-final against Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.

Kokkinakis had a stellar run to the title at this tournament 12 months ago, beating John Isner and Marin Cilic before knocking over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the final.

A first-round exit followed at the Australian Open, although he memorably won the doubles title with Nick Kyrgios. Kokkinakis struggled for the rest of the year, with his ranking currently at 110.

Kokkinakis said after his latest win: "I didn't sleep much last night. I reckon I got to sleep at about five and maybe slept for a couple of hours.

"I just couldn't sleep for whatever reason, so I was trying to conserve energy. I didn't want to use it too much. I had a couple of Monsters [energy drinks] before I started and tried to get going.

"When I'm serving well my whole game follows, and then when my forehand gets going I think I've been hitting my backhand really well this week. If I'm doing those three things, it's a good recipe.

"I grew up on this court when I was eight, nine, 10 years old. I showed up last year, and hopefully I can ride the wave with you guys and keep it going."

Cmon kokki
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 12, 2023

Fourth seed Bautista Agut beat compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-2, while the other Adelaide semi-final will see British player Jack Draper tackle South Korean Kwon Soon-woo.

Draper, who has been drawn to face Rafael Nadal in round one of the Australian Open, beat Russian third seed Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-6 (7-3), while Kwon saw off Swedish qualifier Mikael Ymer 6-1 6-2.

At the Auckland Open, second-seed Briton Cameron Norrie beat American Marcos Giron 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to set up a last-four clash with another player from the USA, Jenson Brooksby, who edged past France's Quentin Halys 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).

The other semi-final will be an all-French battle between Richard Gasquet and Constant Lestienne, who both came from a set down to see off David Goffin and Laslo Djere respectively.