Jordan Thompson storms into fourth round of Wimbledon for first time
Still troubled by a debilitating back injury that had him protesting after his two previous courageous five-set wins that even 'snails move faster', Thompson looked in much sharper nick as he had too much grass-court nous for Italian Luciano Darderi in their third-round clash on Friday, prevailing 6-4 6-4 3-6 6-3.
It booked the battling Thompson his first last-16 appearance at Wimbledon at the ninth attempt and only the second fourth-round date of his grand slam career, matching his US Open performance of last year and 2020.
He is the first Australian to reach the fourth round at the grass-court slam this year, with both Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina having the chance to join him when they play on Saturday.
In the amphitheatre of Court 18, the 31-year-old also managed to bypass the sort of nerve-shredding drama of his previous two matches, which he had won in five-set slogs, this time nipping Darderi's attempted comeback in the bud after the Italian had taken the third set.
That raised the prospect that marathon man Thompson might be dragged into a seventh career five-setter at Wimbledon – he's won five and lost just one – only for him to reassert his quality against the 23-year-old Darderi whose two wins at Wimbledon this year doubled his career tally of grass-court victories.
Thompson will be relieved to have won in seven minutes under three hours to avoid any more pressure on his back, especially with a daunting last-16 outing awaiting against in-form fifth seed Taylor Fritz, who defeated Spain's 26th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1.
Earlier, Rinky Hijikata's daydream of pulling off the greatest of Wimbledon escapes against American big-hitter Ben Shelton lasted less than a minute when the pair resumed their match after it had been controversially suspended on Thursday evening.
Hijikata had got the unexpected chance to live to fight another day after saving three match points and then being reprieved by a controversial postponement of play on Thursday night amid farcical scenes as darkness descended.
But when the match resumed on No.2 Court in the Friday afternoon sunshine with No.10 seed Shelton serving for the match, everyone could see the funny side once he won all four points in just 55 seconds, including three booming aces, to complete the straightforward 6-2 7-5 6-3 victory in two hours 12 minutes.
Sydneysider Hijikata, who had been unable to dent the two-time grand semi-finalist's delivery all match, grinned ruefully as any chance of him becoming the fourth Australian to qualify for the third round alongside Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson and Daria Kasatkina was blasted away.
Hijikata, who had in the last game on Thursday saved three match points to extend the match, paid tribute to Shelton.
'Last night's experience was bizarre ... but that was probably an absolute clinic on how to serve out a match if you've got one game to go,' said Hijikata.
'Yeah, credit to him. It's not easy to come out and serve out a match when you have a bit of pressure and you've had the night off. I thought it was bloody good effort by him.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
16 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Hothouse kid Jamie Smith starts as he goes on and changes Test in 20 minutes
It started in the worst possible way. By the second over of the day England were 84 for five, five hundred runs and a thousand miles behind. Their best batter, Joe Root had just been caught off the ninth ball of the morning, and their captain, Ben Stokes, who has worked so many miracles for them before, had been caught off the 10th, done by a wicked, lifting delivery, nasty, brutish and short, which brushed off his glove on its way through to the keeper. The bowler, Mohammad Siraj, was on a hat-trick, and here comes England's No 7, Jamie Smith, 24 years old, playing his 19th Test innings. The field was set, the slips were waiting, the crowd was up. There was, everyone watching felt sure, only one way the game was heading. The ball was a good one, on a length just outside off and moving in towards middle. Smith took a half-step forwards and, crack, thumped it back down the ground for four. Everyone else in this England team had to unlearn a lot of what they had been taught to begin to bat like this. But not Smith. He and Harry Brook are hothouse kids. Brendon McCullum is the only coach they have had in Test cricket and his way of playing is all they have known. Between the two of them, they turned this into one the great days of Test cricket. If you offered the 25,000 fans who were lucky enough to be inside the ground the chance to spend this July Friday anywhere else, you would have struggled to find one person among them who would not have turned you down flat and snapped their head back to the match. You can berate England, you can shake your head, puff out your cheeks and suck your teeth, but you surely can not take your eyes off them. Where any number of England sides before them would have tried to poke, prod and block their way towards the end of the innings, and the inevitable defeat lying beyond it, this one decided to crash, bang and wallop their way ahead instead. It was like watching Butch and Sundance come charging out of the building in the final reel. In the first innings in the first Test at Headingley, Smith had been caught on the boundary when he had scored 40, trying to hook a second consecutive six off a short ball from Prasidh Krishna. Time was when English cricket would not have forgiven a shot like that. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion But Smith revealed that instead of giving him a 'smack on the wrist' all Brendon McCullum said was that he felt the shot had been the right choice because Smith was hitting with the wind. Which Smith said left him thinking he would do the same thing all over again the next time he found himself in a similar position. That happened sooner than Smith might have imagined. After he had been in for 20 minutes on Friday, Krishna hammered a short ball in at his ribs, which Smith whipped away for four. India already had two men back on the leg-side boundary, waiting for him to play it that way, and Shubman Gill decided to move a third back to join them. Krishna bowled a second short ball and Smith hit this one up and over the fielders for six. So Gill moved two more fielders over to the leg side. India now had six men there ready and waiting. Krishna bowled a third short ball and this time Smith whistled his pull shot away for four. So Krishna tried a fourth and Smith hit it the same way. Krishna pitched the sixth ball up full. So Smith hit it back past him for four more. The over went for 23 and counting from that first four onwards Smith took 35 off 13 balls Krishna bowled to him. The game changed in that 20-minute stretch. All of a sudden, England were up and running. Smith had raised his fifty one minute and overtaken Brook in the next and before you knew it he was closing in on Gilbert Jessop's record for the fastest Test century by an Englishman. He did not quite make it. His hundred came in the last over before lunch off the 80th delivery he had faced. When it was all over, at the far end of the day, England trailed by 180 and had 10 wickets left to get. The field was set, the slips were waiting, the crowd was up, there was, everyone watching felt sure, only one way the game was heading …
Leader Live
36 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Nuno Borges dons black ribbon as Jota tribute after football top request denied
Instead he wore a black ribbon pinned to his hat during Friday's third-round defeat against Karen Khachanov, but said his team had initially pushed for a more visible tribute. 'I know Wimbledon is usually not very flexible with attire,' Borges told the PA news agency. 'But I was told we could still do something to pay our respects for what happened, so I think it was a nice gesture. 'He was a great footballer. It was a tragedy.' Borges, who lost a five-set thriller to the 17th seed, said his agent contacted Wimbledon about the idea of wearing a Portugal shirt, and even tried to source a white version to comply with dress rules, but it was not approved. 'We initially talked about getting a full jersey to walk on court,' he said. 'I even tried to find one in white, but it was turned down, so we ended up doing something a little smaller.' Asked if Wimbledon should have allowed the shirt, he said: 'I think that's what makes Wimbledon special and different from every other slam, so I really don't know.' Wimbledon relaxed its 148-year-old dress code in light of Jota's death, allowing players to wear black ribbons or armbands. Borges was among several players who did, including fellow Portuguese doubles player Francisco Cabral. Cabral, who wore a ribbon on his shirt sleeve during a doubles match with Lucas Miedler, said: 'Yesterday the idea of wearing a black strap came up – that was not allowed. 'I asked for permission to use the black ribbon and they let me play with it.' He described it as 'an honour', adding: 'It was not for the best reason – he was an inspiration not only for me but for the country in general. 'He made so much in the sport and conquered so much in my life. If I helped 1% for the family I will be super happy.' Cabral and Miedler lost their second-round match in straight sets to Czech pair Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl. Wimbledon's dress code has long restricted visible colour on court, and tributes are rarely granted. The gesture marked a rare moment of flexibility from organisers, after the deaths of Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who were killed in Spain while travelling to catch a ferry to England. British doubles player and Liverpool fan Neal Skupski had also taken a black armband for his match on Thursday, but opted not to wear it after learning of the death of his grandmother shortly after coming off court. He said he may wear one 'in the next couple of days'.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Super Sonay! Emma Raducanu's great childhood rival - and daughter of kebab shop owner - steps out of her shadow with a big win
They grew up as tennis rivals, fiercely playing against each other at the National Tennis Centre in 2011 as nine-year-olds. But breakout star Sonay Kartal looks to be finally stepping out from under the shadow of her famous friend Emma Raducanu as she soared into the last 16 at SW19 for the first time yesterday. The 23-year-old wildcard eased past French qualifier Diane Parry with a flawless straight set 6-4, 6-2 victory. Meanwhile British No 1 Ms Raducanu was in action against number one seed Aryna Sabalenka on Centre Court last night. She was again cheered on by former tennis prodigy Benjamin Heynold, 24, with rumours of a possible romance between the pair continuing to spread. Ms Kartal said it was an 'honour' to be one of three Britons still standing at Wimbledon – despite a record start at SW19 for the nation with 23 home players – after Cameron Norrie also booked his place in the fourth round by defeating Mattia Bellucci in straight sets. Coming from humble beginnings in Brighton where her parents ran a kebab shop, rising star Ms Kartal is now on the brink of becoming a millionaire. If she makes the quarter finals she will have clocked up £400,000 in prize money – she has already pocketed £240,000 by making the fourth round, bringing her total career earnings to £972,000. Ms Kartal, who is 5ft 4in tall, vowed to come out swinging in her next match against the World No 50, Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, tomorrow. Talking about how she would handle the pressure, Ms Kartal said: 'I enjoy it. I think it's an honour. Obviously, you've got a lot of attention on you, it means you're doing good things. 'I feel like I'm going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. 'I'm going to go swinging. I think the pressure that I'll feel is the pressure I will be putting on myself just wanting to perform as best as I can.' Ms Kartal said her 'closest family' was in her box on Court One cheering her on while her 'club members that I've known since I was six' were in the stands. 'That was super special,' she said. 'I couldn't necessarily see them, but I could hear a lot of familiar voices in the crowd, which was definitely nice.' Born in Sidcup, Kent, to Clare and Muharrem Kartal, she had a modest upbringing in Brighton where her father owned two Turkish restaurants. She started playing when she was six by following her brother to a training session after an invitation from a coach who ate in their father's restaurant. Earlier this week the player spoke out about how her family could not afford a full-time coach and that she was forced to go to some of the tournaments herself while her coaches undercharged her to help out. The British No 3 said: 'Obviously tennis is super expensive. When I was growing up, I kind of did quite a lot of tournaments on my own because I couldn't afford to pay a coach week in, week out. 'My coaches back in the day, they would charge me I guess the lowest fee and would try to help me out as much as possible.' While Ms Raducanu was riding high after her US Open win, Ms Kartal had little support until she received LTA backing aged 19 which meant she received Pro Scholarship Programme funding. Ms Kartal has previously said that she sees her former rival as an inspiration. 'I grew up playing Emma, so it proves to me that the dream of making it in tennis is not too far away,' she said. The British hopeful also saw her career blighted by injuries in her teenage years – a wrist problem from the ages of 14 to 17 left her struggling to pick up a racket, which was followed by two abdominal tears. Speaking about the difficulties of those years, Ms Kartal said last night: 'It was a bit hit or miss. I was injured for a few years on and off. I kind of never really got consistent. 'I was still playing at the club I'm at today down in Brighton. I was playing national events, the LTA events, doing the nationals for each age group. 'Then I would just go missing a little bit because I'd have an injury or something like that. So it was never consistent.' Ms Kartal's success this week has seen her rankings soar – this time last year she was just inside the top 300 in the world but now she sits in 51st place, and is likely to rise further. As well as being applauded for her impressive run at SW19, Ms Kartal, who has 14 tattoos, is also being hailed as a trendsetter with her throwback 70s baggy Adidas kit. After her win yesterday, she invited fans to make suggestions for designs her 15th tattoo to mark her impressive run. 'If people want to send me their ideas, I will most likely pick one of them and will probably chuck it on somewhere,' she said.
