Australian Open 2025: Draper beats Kokkinakis in thriller, Fearnley and Gauff through – as it happened | Australian Open 2025

Back on Laver, Gauff now leads Burrage 6-3 3-2 with a break; Cazaux leads Fearnley 3-1; Mensik leads Ruud 6-2 1-2; Korda leads Vukic 4-6 6-3 2-0; Fils leads Halys 6-2 4-6 6-6 (2-4); on, and back on Laver, Burrage breaks Gauff back to love! It’s 3-3 in the second!

Two holds for Kokkinakis, powered by a forehand that’s borderline illegaland when Draper serves down 3-6, another ninja-style animal secures a 7-6(3) first set! I’m not sure I’ve seen Kokkinakis play better than this – he’s absolutely rabid out there and so far, Draper has no solution to his biggest shots.

Ach, with Kokkinakis backing away facing a second serve, looking to unleash a forehand, Draper thunders into the net, ceding the mini-break. In so close a contest, that might be the difference, especially given how well the Aussie is serving. He leads 4-2.

Burrage is giving Gauff all she’s got, a forehand winner that secures her first hold of set two leaving her opponent sprawling. Gauff leads 6-3 2-1 with a break; Draper and Kokkinakis are 2-2.

Draper holds to 15 and secures his breaker. I guess you have to fancy Kokkinakis because he’s been so clean on serve, but the Brit is more likely to conjure a winner, I think, so it’s hard to feel confident in that prediction. While I’m pontificating, the Aussie begins with an ace, Draper responding with a service winner.

We’re back under way on the outside courts, meaning I can rack up a fourth match: lovely stuff. So I’ve gone for Jacob Fearnley v Arthur Cazaux, the young Frenchman – one of the heroes of last year’s competition, beating Rune and Griekspoor – up 2-0 in the first.

Gauff breaks Burrage for 6-3 1-0; Kokkinakis rushes through yet another love hold, so Draper must now serve for a tiebreak.

I wonder if this might, when we look back, be the tournament which marked a change in the men’s game. Yesterday, Joao Fonseca walloped Andrey Rublev, and today, Jakub Mensik is up 6-2 on Casper Ruud. These lads are the future, but they might also be the present.

A backhand down the line facilitates a clean-up forehand and Kokkinakis has 0-15, the crowd singing their approval – all the more so when Draper then nets. But the game is soon level, the Brit toughing out a long rally; currently, it’s not coming as easily to him as to his opponent. No matter: he clouts down an ace, Kokkinakis slaps a backhand into the net, and we knew where this set was likely to end up from the beginning; at 5-5 it’s nearly there.

An excellent game from Draper, the highlight him drawing Kokkinakis in with a drop, then unleashing a pass. I wonder if we might see more of that, because net-play is not Kokkinakis’ best attribute. In the time it takes me to type that, Kokkinakis makes 40-0 – Draper can’t make any impression with his return – and an ace follows as Gauff serves out for 6-4 against a game Burrage, who’s playing more or less as well as she can.

Kokkinakis powers through another service game for 4-3, but seems to have knack in his right shoulder; one on which to keep an eye. It’s also worth bearing in mind that Draper played five sets on Monday having had time off, so it’s possible that another physical match drains him more than it otherwise might.

Back on Laver, a hold apiece means Gauff must serve for set one at 5-3, Burrage giving a decent account of herself but still at arm’s length.

Gauff wasn’t chuffed to be broken and attacks Burrage’s serve with prejudice, going backhand to backhand to secure another break for 4-2. Meantime, Mensik breaks Ruud for 3-2 in the first – snagging him in round two is about the worst possible outcome for the no 6 seed – while Kokkinakis and Draper both secure straightforward holds and we move to 3-3. There’s nary a blue Rizla between them.

A monstrous, leaping forehand down the line earns Kokkinakis break point at 2-1 in the first … so Draper uncorks a brute of his own, inside-out on to the sideline. From there he secures his hold, while Burrage earns break-back point with a return walloped to the Gauff forehand. Then, handed a second serve, she smites a terrific winner down the line and into the corner! We’re back on serve at 3-2 to the American!

Kokkinakis holds through advantage for 2-1, and this has the feeling of a long, physical match. The Aussie looks pretty grooved, while Draper is still feeling his way back after injury.

Otherwise, it’s still raining, so there’s still no play on the outside courts … oh, and Burrage is on the board, holding through deuce to trail Gauff 1-3.

The A problem Burrage has is that her backhand is also much better than her forehand but she’s not that much like Gauff in any other aspect, not as quick, powerful or smart. Gauff holds again for 3-0 and quickly makes 0-30…

Burrage might have her tactics right but she’s not as good as Gauff, and is broken through deuce at the first time of asking. On Laver, Draper holds, and already you sense this match’ll require a breaker or several.

And we’re away on Cain, Kokkinakis serving confidently. But there’s a hint, on 40-15, at the kind of match this is going to be, both men thrashing away form the baseline before Draper nets a forehand. The Aussie leads 1-0 while on Laver, Ruud and Mensik – yet another young starlet – are level at 1-1 in the first.

We’re away on Laver, Gauff getting to 40-0 before Burrage fights back, and a return whacked straight to that forehand incites the log riposte; deuce. From there, the favourite closes out, but she did not look impregnable in the process.

As for Jack Draper, he should have too much for Thanasi Kokkinakis, a fine but unspectacular player – but only if he’s at it. If he’s not, he’ll be vulnerable against as good a player as he could expect to face in round two given his 15 seeding.

How does Burrage beat Gauff? Er, she probably doesn’t, but what troubles the world no 3 is no secret: her forehand, though improved, remains a weakness. Burrage plans to attack, apparently, and that’s where she’ll surely focus.

Thanks Martin and hi everyone. Welcome to what should be a terrific evening dig – hopefully with but even without play on the outside courts. Coco Gauff and Jodie Burrage are out on Laver; Casper Ruud and Jakub Mensik are knocking up on Laver; while Jack Draper and Thanasi Kokkinakis are en route to Cain.

Play is still suspended on the outside courts until at least 7.30pm AEDT. But there is plenty of action to come with players warming up under the rooves at Melbourne Park.

Coco Gauff (3) and Great Britain’s Jodie Burrage are about to clash on Rod Laver Arena, with Alexander Zverev (2) and Spain’s Pedro Martinez to follow on the main court.

Casper Ruud (6) and Jakub Mensik will meet on Margaret Court Arena before Talia Gibson tries to turn around a disappointing day for the local hopes when she faces Paula Badosa (11).

But the evening session is arguably headlined by Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis taking on Great Britain’s Jack Draper (15).

Daniel Harris will steer you along under the lights at Melbourne Park. Thanks for following to this point.

Ajla Tomljanovic had her moments but was unable to match her younger opponent’s power from the baseline as the Australians love-hate relationship with her home grand slam continues. The 31-year-old is still to progress to the third round of the women’s singles at Melbourne Park since making her debut in 2014.

Diana Schneider overcomes gallant local hope Ajla Tomljanovic and is through to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time. The 20-year-old continues her rise after reaching the third round at Wimbledon then the next stage at the US Open last year.

The 12th seed will face the winner of the clash between 18th seed Donna Vekic and lucky loser Harriet Dart.

Diana Schneider opens the door for Ajla Tomljanovic as she loses her serving range but the Australian is unable to make the most of the opportunity while losing the game to 30. Once again, the Tomljanovic is serving to stay in the Australian Open and this time to take the second set to a tiebreaker.

Another commanding service game from Ajla Tomljanovic. When her forehand is up and running, she can be hard to resist! Tomljanovic wins the game to love and the second set is level at 5-5 with Diana Schneider to serve.

Ajla Tomljanovic stays alive! The Australian breaks Diana Schneider as she clinches the game with a powerful forehand winner. Tomljanovic looks pumped as the crowd rises as one, but now needs to hold serve.

Ajla Tomljanovic undoes much of her hard work as she is unable to hold serve. The Australian’s smash into an open court on break point for Diana Schneider goes long and her head drops as it becomes apparent that she is really up against it now. The 12th seed is serving for a spot in the third round.

Ajla Tomljanovic gets the break that she needs and will serve to even up the second set against Diana Schneider (12). Plenty of support from the home crowd at John Cain Arena is helping the Australia to lift.

A dominant service game from Ajla Tomljanovic holds to love and takes the second set to 4-2. The Australian still needs to break Diana Schneider to stay alive.