Thanasi Kokkinakis goes down fighting in third round French Open defeat

Prone on his back at Roland Garros after slipping on match point in a thriller against Karen Khachanov on Friday, Thanasi Kokkinakis could have been excused for cursing. A lot.

Another golden opportunity had just gone begging, this time in Paris, in part due to the excellence of the Russian and a miscalculation by Kokkinakis, but also due to bad luck.

Too often that has been the tale of the tape for the Australian in an interrupted career with some remarkable high points but far too many instances where misfortune has intervened.

Kokkinakis had been a point away from forcing a deciding set in his 6-4 6-2 3-6 7-6 (5) loss to the 11th seeded Khachanov in a gripping encounter that lasted 3hr 42min.

The Australian started well in his first third round match at a major in eight years, only to lose his concentration midway through the first set when surrendering control.

But he roused himself with some stunning shotmaking in set three and was on track to force a fifth when the fickle finger of fate intervened once again.

A familiar rush of blood on his own set point in the fourth, where he over hit a forehand, is a problem Kokkinakis knows he must rectify if he is to progress to bigger moments.

“I think I definitely deserved that chance to go to a decider. But sport is tough. It’s part of it,” he said.

“You have just got to keep getting better and try to work out ways to finish and try to deal with the nerves a little better.”

As for bad luck? The last two points of the tiebreaker are indicative of his topsy-turvy career.

On the first match point he saved, Kokkinakis showed remarkable touch to win it despite breaking a string, somehow finding the deftest of touch to control the tennis ball.

With his toes bouncing on the final