Latest news with #JordanThompson
The Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Jordan Thompson wins through to Wimbledon third round
Jordan Thompson may be taking a break when he leaves Wimbledon to nurse his battered body back into shape but it could be a while before that happens after the Australian recorded another comeback five-set win. Entering the tournament with a brace for his back, Thompson came from two sets to one down to beat Benjamin Bonzi 7-5 6-7 (2) 4-6 6-2 6-4 in just under four hours to become the first Australian into the third round. Thompson was inside the world's top 30 before an injury-hit season dropped him to 44 and cats doubt on how deep he could go in London. . . Jordan Thompson is through to the third round at Wimbledon after another stirring comeback. Picture: Getty Images But after a stirring opening round victory, Thompson, with Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, watching on, again, defied even his own expectations to set up a next round clash with either Luciano Darderi, ranked 59, or Arthur Fery, the lowly ranked Englishman who upset Alexei Popyrin in the first round. Frenchman Bonzi took down last year's semi-finalist Daniil Medvedev in the first round and showed that quality again as he pushed Thompson to the limit. But the gritty Australian showed he's always up for a fight, no matter the state of his body, and after losing the second and third sets took the fourth and then the fifth to put him on the verge of making the fourth round for the first time. Thompson is one of only a handful of the 17 Australians who started the tournament still alive. ALCARAZ ENDS TARVET'S WIMBLEDON ADVENTURE, PAOLINI CRASHES OUT Carlos Alcaraz spoiled Oliver Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure as the defending champion moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over the British amateur, while last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini became the latest star to crash out. A record-breaking number of seeds crashed out at the All England Club in the first round, but Alcaraz and women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka avoided seismic shocks on Centre Court. Second-seeded Alcaraz needed two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd. 'First of all I have to give big praise to Oliver. In his second match on the tour, I just loved his game to be honest,' Alcaraz said. 'I knew I had to play my best tennis. I was really happy with my performance but big praise to him as well.' Carlos Alcaraz celebrates during his win over Oliver Tarvet. Picture: AFP In the first two days, nine of the top 10 seeded players across the men's and women's singles draws were eliminated, a Grand Slam record in the Open era. Second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen all lost in the first round. And Italian fourth seed Paolini was next to stumble in the second round. Paolini, beaten by Barbora Krejcikova in the 2024 Wimbledon title match, slumped to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Russian world number 62 Kamilla Rakhimova. Sabalenka bucked the trend, out-duelling 48th-ranked Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a heavy-hitting contest. The Belarusian, who suffered painful defeats in the finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open this year, lashed an impressive 41 winners in a match lasting one hour and 35 minutes. 'Honestly it's very sad to see so many top players losing but you better focus on yourself,' said the three-time Grand Slam winner. 'I hope it's no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean.' Read related topics: Wimbledon
The Age
18-07-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Scott Spits
While Alex de Minaur begins his Wimbledon campaign on day two, Australia stared down a disastrous wipeout for much of the first four hours on Monday until a wounded Jordan Thompson stepped in to pull off another Houdini act.
Straits Times
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Wimbledon expansion plan goes into legal tie-break
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 4, 2025 General view during the third round match between Australia's Jordan Thompson and Italy's Luciano Darderi REUTERS/Toby Melville TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY LONDON - Wimbledon fans will have eyes only for the tennis this week but for those who run the world's oldest and most prestigious Grand Slam, the real high-stakes contest will unfold not on their grass, but in London's Royal Courts of Justice. On one side of the legal net is the campaign group Save Wimbledon Park, while facing them in a judicial review of their ambitious expansion plan on Tuesday and Wednesday will be the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC). It is the latest stage of a long-running fight that has split the south-west London "village", which has been home to the Championships since 1877. Last September the AELTC secured planning permission from the Greater London Authority (GLA) to treble the size of the main site to include 39 new courts including an 8,000-seat show court by redeveloping a former golf course on parkland land it already owns. The 200-million-pound ($272.92-million) expansion aims to increase daily capacity to 50,000 people from the current 42,000, upgrade facilities and move the qualifying rounds on site to mirror the Australian, French, and U.S. Opens. The plans have the backing of several leading players, including Novak Djokovic, and 62% of 10,000 residents in Merton and Wandsworth, the London boroughs that share the new site, also support the scheme, according to the AELTC. 'Our confidence in the development and the proposals that we've been working on for many years is as strong as it ever has been,' Wimbledon tournament director Jamie Baker told Reuters. 'For the championships to continue to be in the position that it is and to deliver all the benefits to stakeholders including the local community it is vital that we are able to stage the tournament on one site and bring all the grounds together." However, this week's judicial review will decide whether the GLA's decision to grant planning permission was unlawful. Opponents of the development, including Thelma Ruby, a 100-year-old former actress who lives in a flat overlooking the park, and West Hill Ward Councillor Malcolm Grimston, say the club's plans will cause environmental damage and major disruption to the area. 'It's terribly important that it does not go ahead not just for myself but for the whole planet and future generations," Ruby told Reuters. "I overlook this beautiful landscape and there are all sorts of covenants that say you mustn't build on it, and yet the tennis people have this unnecessary plan they admit will cut down all these glorious trees, which will harm wildlife. 'They're using concrete, building roads, they're going to have lorries polluting and passing my window every 10 minutes. The whole area will be in chaos as they're closing off roads,' she said. Save Wimbledon Park says the GLA failed to consider covenants that were agreed by the AELTC, including restrictions on redeveloping the land, when it bought the Wimbledon Park golf course freehold from Merton council in 1993 for 5.2 million pounds. The AELTC paid a reported 63.5 million pounds to buy the Golf Club's lease, which was due to run until 2041. The campaign group also believes the GLA failed to consider the land's statutory Public Recreation Trust status which means it should be held as "public walks or pleasure grounds". 'It is not antipathy towards the AELTC that's driving this, as some of the benefits are real, such as the extension of lake,' councillor Grimston told Reuters. 'The problem is that it will treble the footprint of the current Championship and turn what currently has very much a feel of being rural England and a gentle pace of life into an industrial complex that would dominate the views of the lake. 'That's why it's classified as Metropolitan Open Land, which is the urban equivalent of the green belt that has been protected for many decades in planning law in the UK and rightly so,' he said. The AELTC say the plans will improve the biodiversity of the park, as well as bringing parts of it back into public use. 'The London Wildlife trust have endorsed the plans, they've spent many hours scrutinising our analysis and our expert views," the AELTC's head of corporate affairs Dominic Foster said. "We know that this expansion will deliver a very significant benefit to biodiversity, whereas golf courses are not good for biodiversity.' REUTERS
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Double Wimbledon blow after injury cruels Aussie
Jordan Thompson may have thought he was a 'bit of a pussy' for withdrawing from the biggest match of his career but his body was so broken it also cost him a chance at a Wimbledon doubles crown. A combination of 'everything' forced the world No.44 to retire during the second set of his clash with fifth seed Taylor Fritz who called the Australian 'valiant' for even getting onto the court for the fourth round clash. Thompson rebuffed the compliment from his opponent and having battled injury leading into and during the tournament, said rest would be crucial to be able to prepare for the US Open. That would likely mean giving up his doubles campaign with French partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert, having lost last year's final with fellow Aussie Max Purcell. 'Everything in my body's already aggravated, and I think I just made it worse,' Thompson said having shaken hands with his opponent down 3-0 and 40-o after losing the opening set. 'It's just my back. And my legs are obviously very tight from compensating. Reaching up to get that lob, I don't think that my back liked it very much, and neither did my legs.' 'Honestly, I feel like a bit of a pussy pulling out. I wouldn't call it valiant.' It was still the best singles return at Wimbledon for Thompson who almost didn't start the event before consecutive five-set matches took their toll. 'I've been sore every day, and was kind of waiting for it to happen,' said the 31-year-old, who missed out on making his maiden grand slam quarter-final. 'I had been thinking of not playing this tournament. So I'm now just taking the positives, it's my best result here, so it's still a great tournament.' He said it would be a 'miracle' if he played out the doubles. 'It's looking that way,' he said. 'I told my partner, if by some miracle, I wake up tomorrow morning and feel like I have been in the previous matches that I'll play, but I'd say a 95 per cent chance of not.' His exit leaves Alex de Minaur to carry Australian hopes as the lone singles player among the original 17-strong contingent and Thompson is confident Australia's top player can topple eight-time champ Novak Djokovic on Centre Court on Monday night. 'Well, Demon's beaten him before and I haven't,' said Thompson. ''If he believes he can win, he can. He's the underdog, so, hopefully, he plays freely and just takes it to him.'
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Stole the game from me': Wimbledon rocked by 'pathetic' moment amid Cruz Hewitt stunner
Wimbledon was mired in controversy on Sunday night when Russian player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had a game "stolen from her" due to an electronic line-calling error. And it was a mixed day for the Aussies, with Jordan Thompson forced to retire hurt but Cruz Hewitt winning on his Wimbledon debut. Pavlyuchenkova was left fuming during her fourth-round clash with British player Sonay Kartal, and accused the officials or favouring the local hope. The automated line-calling system - which replaced human judges this year - malfunctioned at a crucial point on Centre Court. Former French Open champion Pavlyuchenkova was robbed of a point while serving at game point at 4-4 in the opening set. Kartal hit a shot that clearly landed long - which prompted Pavlyuchenkova to stop playing - but the automatic system never made the call. An automated voice call of "Stop Stop" then blared out over the speakers, causing more confusion as chair umpire Nico Helwerth had to telephone for help from tournament organisers. Helwerth eventually ruled that because the Hawk-Eye technology hadn't tracked the ball, the point had to be replayed - even though TV replays showed the ball was way out. Hawk-Eye failed to call this Sonay Kartal shot (Ad Pavlyuchenkova) was stopped, and had to be then broken, and fuming. "Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me."#Wimbledon — James Gray (@jamesgraysport) July 6, 2025 Pavlyuchenkova then had her serve broken, and was raging at the changeover. She told Helwerth: "Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me. They stole the game from me. You stole the game from me". Thankfully for Pavlyuchenkova it didn't cost her the match, with the Russian winning 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals. Tournament officials later issued an apology, saying the situation occurred due to human error. But Pavlyuchenkova felt Helwerth should have showed some common sense and awarded her the point. "I just thought the chair umpire could take the initiative," she said afterwards. "That's why he's there sitting on the chair. He also saw it out, he told me after the match. I thought he would do that, but he didn't. I think it's also difficult for him. He probably was scared to take such a big decision." Tennis fans and commentators were left gobsmacked by the controversial moment. Leading reporter Jose Morgado wrote on social media: "Simply PATHETIC situation on Centre Court. Pavlyuchenkova just lost a game that... she won. 4th round of a Slam. Centre Court. 'You just stole me the game'. She is right." Simply PATHETIC situation on Centre just lost a game that... she 4-4. 4th round of a Court."You just stole me the game".She is right. — José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 6, 2025 That's absolutely scandalous. The camera showed the ball clearly out and they don't give the point to Pavlyuchenkova? And how is it the line system can just randomly stop working at certain points? #Wimbledon — Conor (@cjcw22) July 6, 2025 'You took the game away from me' Anastasia Pavyluchenkova is absolutely right in telling the chair umpire is embarrassing for embarrassing for Wimbledon The ball was clearly out and the tech failed #Wimbledon #Kartal #Pavlyuchenkova — Paul Johnson (@pjohnson_sports) July 6, 2025 It came on a mixed day for the Aussie contingent, with a battered Thompson forced to call it quits in the second set against American star Fritz. Thompson had produced a courageous effort just to make it as far as the fourth round, but his body gave up on Sunday. No.5 seed Fritz was up 6-1 3-0 and 40-0 when a forehand swept past his stricken victim, leaving Thompson to shake his head and offer his hand to the victor after a 41-minute nightmare. Playing with a debilitating sacroiliac joint complaint in his back that has plagued him throughout the tournament, the injury was only exacerbated in the fourth game when Thompson leapt for a lob and exacerbated it. "Everything in my body's already aggravated, and I think I just made it worse," he sighed afterwards. "It's just my back. And my legs are obviously very tight from compensating. Reaching up to get that lob, I don't think that my back liked it very much, and neither did my legs. "I've been sore every day, and was kind of waiting for it to happen. I had been thinking of not playing this tournament. So I'm now just taking the positives, it's my best result here, so it's still a great tournament." Thompson's spirits would have been lifted by seeing 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt win his opening match in the junior tournament on debut at Wimbledon. With father Lleyton watching on - who won the tournament 23 years ago - Cruz beat Russian opponent Savva Rybkin 6-1 6-2. Tennis fans and commentators couldn't help but notice the similarities between Cruz and his famous father. Bastien Fachan wrote on social media: 'Same backwards cap, same Yonex racket, same Nike heritage polo, same attitude. A carbon copy.' Cruz is continuing to carve out a career of his own in the hope he can follow in his father's footsteps. He also won his opening-round match in the junior tournament at the Australian Open in January, but lost in the first-round at the French Open. Chip off the old block 😲 — Sandra Stubbs (@SandraStubbs14) July 6, 2025 This taller #CruzHewiitt looks to have modelled a lot of his game on @ serve is good, f/h open, big & wristy, b/h do worse. TBH it won't be a surprise to see more young players influenced by NK. — Ripper Bewdy (@BewdyRipper) July 6, 2025 I feel old 🤣 — Girish Menon Photography (@wildlifegiri) July 6, 2025 with agencies
