Australian Jordan Thompson is through to the second round at an ATP 500 grass-court tournament in London, while Ajla Tomljanovic scored a first-round win in Birmingham.
London, Great Britain, 18 June 2024 | Rhys de Deugd
Queen’s Club, Great Britain
Jordan Thompson is through to the final 16 at the Queen’s Club for the third time in his career after an upset win over seventh seed Holger Rune.
The Australian snapped a five-match losing streak with a 4-6 7-6(4) 6-3 victory over the star Dane, in what was an impressive display in the pair’s first meeting.
Thompson was on song with his serving, allowing Rune just one break point opportunity in the first set, and zero for the rest of the match.
“I served pretty well the whole day and he served well as well,” Thompson said.
“Just a break here and there that decided the match, and a tiebreaker.”
The world No.43 will either face compatriot Alexei Popyrin or five-time Queen’s champion Andy Murray in the second round as he eyes off a maiden quarterfinal at the prestigious event in London.
Joining Thompson in the second round is fellow Sydneysider Rinky Hijikata, who advanced passed world No.28 Frances Tiafoe when the American retired early in the third set.
Hijikata started strongly in the first set by winning 40 percent of his return points, which allowed him to claim two breaks of serve and take the opener 7-5.
Tiafoe fought back to claim the second set, before stopping after one game in the decider due to a fall resulting in a hip injury.
“Up until that point I felt I was playing pretty well, I felt like I had a pretty good serving performance today,” Hijikata said as he moves into the second round at the Queen’s Club for the first time.
“Obviously not the way you want to go through and I feel pretty awful for Frances, hopefully he can recover quick.”
The grass-court experience against highly-ranked opponents will give Hijikata a great boost as he sets his sights towards his Wimbledon main-draw debut later this month.
“Playing Wimbledon has always been a dream of mine and I was pretty shattered a couple years ago when I lost last round of ‘qualies’,” Hijikata said.
“Being (in) on my own merit this year is a big positive and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Aussies in action – Queen’s Club
RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Jordan Thompson (AUS) d [7] Holger Rune (DEN) 4-6 7-6(4) 6-3
[Q] Rinky Hijikata (AUS) d Frances Tiafoe…
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