Cincinnati bid: Aussie tennis ace back in business

Perth Now

2 days ago

Jordan Thompson, whose battling heroics proved the highlight of the Australian challenge at Wimbledon, is to return to action at the Cincinnati Open after a much-needed injury break.
Thompson worked wonders with his beaten-up body to reach the last-16 at the grass-court grand slam, having negotiated two five-set classics and a four-setter even while suffering from a debilitating back injury.
His extraordinary run ended with him, almost inevitably, breaking down and being forced to retire against Taylor Fritz.
He's since grabbed a crucial month's rest and recuperation following a season in which he's been so plagued by a catalogue of injuries that he had even talked at Wimbledon of possibly quitting for the season.
But the indefatigable 'Tommo' will be back in action in the Masters 1000 event at Cincinnati which begins on Friday, after his name featured among eight Australians in the main draws for the traditional star-studded warm-up event before the US Open.
He will join Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin, fresh from their encouraging runs to to the quarter-final at the Canadian Open, as well as Chris O'Connell and Adam Walton in the men's draw, while Daria Kasatkina, Maya Joint and Ajla Tomljanovic will feature in the women's.
Thompson, whose ranking has dropped to No.44 in the world, will open up in Cincinnati against a qualifier and will be keen to avoid an early exit that could consign him to a place outside the top 50 for the first time since the start of his breakthrough 2024 season.
De Minaur, who has a first-round bye, will meet the winner of the Hugo Dellien-Reilly Opelka first-round contest in the last-64 while Popyrin will face a qualifier in his second-round opener.
No Australian man has won in Cincinnati since Pat Rafter 27 years ago, and it will be once again the tallest of orders with the game's two biggest names back in the fray.
World No.1 Jannik Sinner and No.2 Carlos Alcaraz are seeded to meet each other in what could be another classic final after they shared triumphs at Wimbledon and Roland Garros respectively.
Both men gave Toronto a miss, with top seed Sinner ready to defend his Cincinnati crown after beating Frances Tiafoe in the final last summer.