Australian Jordan Thompson makes his title breakthrough at an ATP 250 tournament in Mexico.
Los Cabos, Mexico, 25 February 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Jordan Thompson has captured his maiden ATP singles title.
The 29-year-old Australian made his long-awaited breakthrough at an ATP 250 hard-court tournament in Los Cabos, where he secured the crown with a 6-3 7-6(4) victory against world No.12 Casper Ruud in the final.
“We’ve been putting in some seriously hard work and it’s good to see that it pays off,” Thompson said.
“It’s been a journey. I’m nearly 30 and lifting a trophy, I never thought I’d do that.”
A gritty Thompson made the most of his opportunities in the final, winning all three break points he earned across the two-hour and two-minute encounter.
He was also clutch under pressure, saving 11 of the 13 break points he faced against the 25-year-old Norwegian.
It caps an incredible week for Thompson, who staged a remarkable come-from-behind victory against American Alex Michelsen in the quarterfinals after trailing 0-6 0-3 and saving three match points.
It also marks the first time that Thompson has scored back-to-back top-20 victories in his career, having fought past world No.6 Alexander Zverev yesterday in an epic semifinal battle that extended three hours and 40 minutes.
He described his title-winning run as “a miracle”.
“I’ve spent so many hours on the court this week and in the quarterfinals I could have got double bagelled,” Thompson noted.
His previous best result at tour-level was runner-up finishes at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a grass-court tournament, in 2019 and 2023.
Already sitting at a career-high of world No.40, Thompson is projected to climb even higher when the next instalment of ATP Tour rankings are released.
There’s no time for celebrations through, with Thompson’s tournament not over yet.
He returned to court in doubles action alongside compatriot Max Purcell, scoring a 6-3 7-6(4) victory in their delayed semifinal against Ruud and American William Blumberg.
This sets up a final showdown, which will be Thompson’s third match of the day, against Ecuador’s Gonzalo Escobar and Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Nedovyesov.
Thompson is aiming to become the first Australian to sweep singles and doubles titles at an ATP tournament since Nick Kyrgios at Washington in August 2022.
Aussies in action – Los Cabos
RESULTS
Men’s singles, final
[8] Jordan Thompson (AUS) d [4] Casper…
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