British number one Jack Draper dug deep into his reserves to beat home hope Thanasi Kokkinakis over five gruelling sets to reach the Australian Open third round.

Draper, seeded 15th, has been dealing with a hip injury but came through to win 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 3-6 7-5 6-3 in Melbourne.

Kokkinakis, ranked 71st, served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set but 23-year-old Draper broke to love and went on to win the decider with a single late break.

Jacob Fearnley, a childhood friend of Draper, earlier became the first Briton to reach the last 32 at this year’s tournament – his first overseas Grand Slam.

The British number three continued his stunning rise with a 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-3 win over France’s Arthur Cazaux amid a rowdy atmosphere at Melbourne Park.

The 23-year-old Scot kept his composure to beat home favourite Nick Kyrgios in his opening match and backed that win up with another assured display.

The world number 92, who only left university last April, has been rewarded with a tie against German second seed Alexander Zverev next.

Barely anyone outside of British tennis circles had heard of Fearnley this time last year.

While eyes were on the pinnacle of sport at Melbourne Park, he was playing events on the third-tier ITF Tour and still finishing his kinesiology degree at university in the United States.

Fearnley honed his skills in the “brutal” US college tennis system, which allowed him to come out of his shell and forge the steely character which has served him well in his early days as a professional.

Last April he left Texas Christian University and then came the stunning rise which has been one of the quickest in ATP history.

Winning five ATP Challenger events in 2024 propelled him into the top 100 and enabled him to qualify directly for this year’s Australian Open main draw.

Like every other test he has faced over recent months, he has not been fazed by the experience.

After beating 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios in front of a partisan home crowd on Monday, Fearnley might have been forgiven for thinking it would be a quieter evening on the outside courts.

But, with a vocal French support backing Cazaux and also galvanising the British fans, his college tennis experience helped him once again.

Fearnley trailed 2-0 before a rain delay and quickly went another break down when they returned to court an hour later in cool and windy conditions.

He lost serve again early in the second set, but immediately clawed the break back and swung the momentum in his favour.

His fluid and fast groundstrokes were too much for Cazaux to handle, enabling him to confidently win the final two sets before looking stunned when he clinched victory.