A courageous Thanasi Kokkinakis has been unable to bust his second-round ceiling at the Australian Open after losing in four sets to an impressive Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday night.

The Bulgarian won 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 and outplayed the Australian early but a Kokkinakis revival pushed the 13th seed to the end and energised the crowd on a boisterous evening on John Cain Arena.

Dimitrov, who at 32 is in close to career-best form, produced a mostly masterful performance though the Australian raised his game as the match wore on.

“He was playing good tennis, he was pressing me,” Dimitrov said.

“I had too many opportunities also at some point, but I couldn’t convert any of the break points, so I just had to be a little bit more patient and served it out beautifully.”

The Australian’s serve and mobility were limited by an injury to his torso.

“My service speeds were down a little bit, struggling to get that pop on first serve and those free points,” he said.

“Someone like that, you need all the help you can get, just struggling a little bit with side but – not using that as an excuse at all – he was just too good today.”

Kokkinakis has now lost in the second round in men’s singles at Melbourne Park on five occasions, including in three of the past four years.

Most of the 10,000-odd fans who were inside the “people’s court” at Melbourne Park were there to help Kokkinakis slay that demon.

The Australian had gone further in the slams – winning the doubles title with Nick Kygrios here in 2022 and reaching the third round at Roland Garros last year – but the second round had been his bane at Melbourne Park.

Kokkinakis let a two-set lead slip against Andy Murray last year, but the start of the match on this windy Thursday couldn’t have been more different. The Australian was broken in just the fourth game and for much of the first two hours his opponent looked invincible.

Dimitrov has been entrenched in the top 20 for the past decade and reached as high as No 3 in the world in 2017.

Though he will turn 33 in May, the Bulgarian shows no signs of slowing down. He won 100 matches in a year for the first time last year since 2017 and claimed the Brisbane title earlier this month.

He said he had been able to find consistency in the past year.

“I just had to make sure my body was listening to me, that I had no injury, that I could be more more consistent, more practice, more matches,” he said.

“You can be as fit as you want but nothing substitutes the match play so, little by little, drop by drop, I mean, here we are.”

A supreme second set saw him win all but four of his points on serve, recording 21 winners and just four unforced errors, and breaking the Australian twice.

The momentum stayed with the Bulgarian in the third set but Kokkinakis hung with his opponent. Bending on seemingly every service game, but not buckling.

After two-and-a-half hours, when the Australian forced Dimitrov to skew a backhand into the net to take an unlikely set, the hordes in John Cain Arena burst with delight for one of their favourite sons.

Kokkinakis was revelling in the script’s turn. Urging the crowd on at every point, swirling in the evening’s spark. Dimitrov still had the upper hand, but the Australian just wouldn’t go away.

Yet as soon as the fans started to dream of a fifth set, and maybe even a potential miracle, their hopes were snuffed. Kokkinakis couldn’t convert, twice serving at 4-4, up 40-15. Then two long rallies went the Bulgarian’s way and seconds later – after three hours and 28 minutes – so too the match.

“I felt like I couldn’t get the ball past him, [he was] moving unbelievably well and he was playing very well the first two sets,” Kokkinakis said.

“I fought hard, sneaking out the third set and the fourth set was a tussle, and I got broken from 40-15 which is disappointing.”

Despite riding the waves of a compelling contest, Dimitrov was philosophical afterwards.

“I’m in a place in my life where I’m really enjoying what I’m doing out here,” he said.

“Whether I lose or I win, I want to be kinder to myself. I have been doing this for way too long and the game has given me so much so I’m very, very grateful at the moment.”

He will meet Portuguese world No 69 Nuno Borges in the third round.