Tomas-Berdych.net         

Friday, August 4, 2017 --- Kokkinakis Stuns Berdych For Maiden Final --- #NextGenATP Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis continued his remarkable run this week by reaching his first ATP World Tour singles final on Friday at Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex, rallying to defeat top seed Tomas Berdych in Los Cabos 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. "I showed some glimpses of good tennis this year, so to do that consistently this week in Los Cabos means a lot," said Kokkinakis. "I've had great support from the fans here all week. I love it here and I'll definitely be coming back a few more times. " The 21 year old was sidelined from singles competition for 18 months with a laundry list of injuries, but returned to singles action this past May. In just his fourth tournament back, he defeated Milos Raonic at the Aegon Championships. Kokkinakis is currently No. 454 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after six tournaments, but will move to around No. 225 when the newest standings are released on Monday. A win in the final will put him around No. 165. Berdych grabbed the lone break of the opening set at 4-3, but Kokkinakis regrouped in the second set by storming to a 6/2 lead in the tie-break before eventually forcing a decider. The Aussie led by 5-2 in the final set, but nerves began to take over trying to close out the match. He dropped his serve and squandered four match points, but ultimately regrouped to prevail in two hours and 18 minutes.