Surprise in Melbourne. Apparently Yannick Hanfmann defeated local champion Thansi Kokinakis in the first round of the Australian Open. Now it is up to him against the frontrunner.

Tennis pro Yannick Hanfmann won a duel with superstar Rafael Nadal with a strong opening performance at the Australian Open. The 30-year-old qualifier from Karlsruhe defeated crowd favorite Thansi Kokinakis surprisingly 6:2, 6:3, 6:2 on Monday and is now challenging the record-breaking Spanish Grand Slam winner for the second round. He convincingly beat the American Marcus Geron 6: 1, 6: 4, 6: 2 (read more about this here).

Kupfer, Djokovic’s substitute is out

Hanfman didn’t let the raucous Australian crowd upset him against Kokinakis, who recently won his first ATP title in Adelaide, turning his third match point after 2:07. He was followed by Dominic Kupfer (Fortwangen) in the second round, who beat Spaniard Carlos Taberner 6:1, 3:6, 6:4, 6:1 after a focused long-distance performance.

In his previous two Melbourne main draw matches, the Davis Cup player had finished in the second round at the latest. Now, the third seed in Germany is preparing to take the next step in a duel with Riley Opelka (USA/No. 23) or Kevin Anderson (South Africa).

Kupffer was “happy” with the win, but he also reported elbow problems after the match. The former college player said: “It’s OK to have enough painkillers, it’s a bone fatigue. He was very good today, but maybe I’ll have to take a few weeks off after the Australian Open.”

Tatiana Maria, Andrea Petkovic and Peter Gogovichik have already been eliminated. Novak Djokovic’s Salvatore Caruso had to pack his belongings. Read more about this here And here.