Thanasi Kokkinakis's poor start to 2024 on the ATP Tour has received a major boost in Mexico.
After a crushing first-round loss in Florida last week, the world No.103 beat Jack Draper 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in the opening round of the Los Cabos Open.
The Australian had won only three of seven matches prior to begin the year, two of those victories coming in qualifying at Delray Beach.
Kokkinakis had lost the one and only previous clash with Draper, a three-setter in group play during last year's Davis Cup Finals. And he started slowly on Tuesday (AEDT), broken in the opening game of the three-hour match.
He levelled at 2-2 but dropped his serve again in the crucial ninth game.
Both players were broken three times in the second set before Kokkinakis claimed it in a breaker.
And after breaking in the first game of the third, the 27-year-old from Adelaide held strong to set up a clash with another Brit in Daniel Evans, after he recorded a 6-2 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Russian Roman Safiullin.
Earlier, another Aussie in seventh seed Max Purcell scored a 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over Italian Matteo Arnaldi.
Purcell, ranked 10 places lower than No.51 Arnaldi, had fewer winners and made more unforced errors but booked his spot in the second round against either German Dominik Koepfer or Nuno Borges of Portugal.
American teenager Alex Michelsen's reward for a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) success over Frenchman Constant Lestienne is a clash with Australia's top-ranked male, and world No.9, Alex de Minaur in the last 16.
Sydneysider Rinky Hijikata opens his campaign against Serbian sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic on Wednesday with the victor to face Aleksandar Kovacevic, who won the all-US clash with Brandon Holt 6-1 6-4.
Also on day four, two more Aussies play their round-of-32 openers and both against local wildcards.
Eighth seed Jordan Thompson takes on Ernesto Escobedo and Aleksander Vukic plays Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez.
Top seeds Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also yet to get their tournaments underway.
