Max Purcell, Jordan Thompson, Storm Hunter and Aleksandar Vukic all begin their Wimbledon 2023 singles campaigns today.
London, Great Britain, 3 July 2023 | Leigh Rogers
Four Australians are scheduled to compete on the opening day at Wimbledon 2023.
Jordan Thompson is primed for his seventh Wimbledon campaign. The 29-year-old Australian is in red-hot form too, having won nine of his 13 singles matches on grass in the past month.
“I’ve played a lot of matches on grass. We’ve had good results. You can’t ask for better preparation,” the world No.70 said.
Thompson’s opening-round opponent is world No.55 Brandon Nakashima.
The 21-year-old American, who extended eventual finalist Nick Kyrgios to five sets in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, has won three of his previous four meetings against Thompson.
“Tough draw, (but) they’re all tough,” Thompson acknowledged. “I’ve been playing plenty of matches, I am ready to go.”
> READ: Thompson and O’Connell thrive through mutual support at Wimbledon
Max Purcell, the reigning Wimbledon doubles champion, has also been handed a tough draw. The 25-year-old meets seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round of the gentlemen’s singles competition.
The world No.64, who is enjoying a breakout season in singles, is hoping to record his career-first win against a top-10 opponent.
Purcell, who lists grass as his favourite surface, has declared he is “not here to make up the numbers”.
“It’s a surface that evens everyone out, so I feel there’s no reason why any of us Australians can’t take out any big players,” Purcell said.
Aleksandar Vukic carries career-best momentum into Wimbledon too. The 27-year-old recently broke into the world’s top 100 and has received direct acceptance into a Grand Slam main-draw for the first time.
“It’s very exciting,” admitted the world No.87. “I’m still trying to figure out where everything is … it’s pretty surreal.”
Vukic plays Daniel Altmaier, a 24-year-old German ranked No.66, in the opening round.
“I’ve played him once before and I lost a very close match, so I know kind of what to expect,” Vukic said. “It will be a battle.”
Storm Hunter is also set to make her main-draw singles debut at the All England Club, after earning her place through qualifying.
“I’m coming in with three good matches on grass and even making the doubles final in Birmingham helped me get grass-court…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Tennis.com.au – Tennis Australia…