On a manic, mixed Monday for Australia's elite, with Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina also braving "brutal" conditions to prevail, injury-plagued Kokkinakis, who feared at the Australian Open his career could be finally be sunk by chronic shoulder trouble, again defied all odds to outlast French leftie Terence Atmane.
Two sets to one down, then 5-3 and 30-0 behind in the decider as the local served for the match, roared on by a fevered home crowd, Adelaide's finest conjured up all his old famed resilience to haul himself back and prevail 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 4-6 6-3 7-5.
It was classic Kokkinakis, going to a fifth-set decider for the 16th time in his career and eking out a ninth win after four hours 18 minutes. Amid all the baiting by the crowd, he riled them further by furiously disputing a line call with the umpire just as he was serving to take the match into a final set. He won that argument, too.
For a 30-year-old who reckons the next 12 months will make or break his career as he attempts his latest comeback from a career-saving shoulder op 18 months ago, it felt simply glorious.
Earlier, de Minaur hadn't been at his very best but still had too much quality for British qualifier Toby Samuel.
Demon in charge 💪#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/WiUJgK3oU3— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 25, 2026
The world No.7 pronounced himself "happy with a very consistent match" after outplaying the main draw debutant 6-4 6-4 6-2 and building on the new focus and confidence he'd gleaned by reaching last week's Hamburg Open semis..
Conditions could hardly have been further removed from last week's cold and rain in Germany, but de Minaur loved the "very hot and lively" sun-baked courts. "I'm very happy with the way I had adapted, I did what I needed to do," he said.
By the third set, with temperatures now soaring to 33C, de Minaur really got work, winning the last four games for the loss of just three points to set up what he knows will be a much more challenging date with rising Belgian star Alexander Blockx in round two. Â
A month after plummeting to her lowest ranking for 11 years, the Paris courts where she reached the semis in 2022 seemed to re-energise Kasatkina as she prevailed 6-4 6-4 against tough Turkish customer Zeynep Sonmez despite admitting to also having been far from her best in "brutal" heat. Â
"Honestly, a couple of weeks ago I would probably lose this match," said Kasatkina after a see-saw battle featuring 10 breaks. "Today, I was able to win it. Maybe not playing my best, but being there mentally, like very present."
Around the grounds, though, the weather might not have been able to inspire other Aussies, but the sunshine smile couldn't be ripped from the face of 17-year-old Emerson Jones, even while being given the almost inevitable 6-1 6-2 drubbing by Iga Swiatek on the Court Philippe Chatrier that the Pole used to own.
Even needing treatment after the first set for a blister on her racquet hand couldn't stop the four-time champ giving the Gold Coast former world junior No.1 a one-hour lesson.
That's not to say Jones didn't give a decent account of herself after losing the first eight points of the match, shocking the Polish third seed by breaking back with one scintillating inside-out forehand winner.Â
"It's really exciting," she enthused about her favourite moment. "So great to step out on that court in front of that many people against Iga."
Australian No.1 Maya Joint naturally didn't feel the same way about her own 6-1 6-2 loss. Still feeling her way back after two months out with a back injury, she was outclassed 6-1 6-2 by 28th seed Anastasia Potapova in 71 minutes.
Talia Gibson, so brilliant in the sunshine swing in the US, once again found clay a different ball game, succumbing from a set up against the ever durable Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 4-6 6-4 6-1.
Fresh from outstaying de Minaur in the Hamburg semi-final, American Tommy Paul turned Aussier slayer again, fighting back to beat Rinky Hijikata 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-4, while his fellow Sydneysider Aleksandar Vukic went down 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to Belgian Raphael Collignon.
