Australian Jordan Thompson has eliminated world No.55 Brandon Nakashima in a five-set first-round battle at Wimbledon 2023.
London, Wimbledon, 3 July 2023 | Leigh Rogers and Matt Trollope
Jordan Thompson has staged a steely comeback to make a victorious start to his Wimbledon 2023 campaign.
The 29-year-old Australian recovered from a two-set deficit for just the third time in his career, roaring back to record a 2-6 2-6 6-4 7-6(4) 6-3 win against world No.55 Brandon Nakashima in an enthralling first-round showdown.
Nakashima made the fourth round in a career-best run at the All England Club last year and the 21-year-old American’s grass-court nous was on display early.
But a patient Thompson eventually wore down his higher-ranked opponent, with 16 aces and 36 winners helping him notch the sixth five-set win of his career.
Thompson handled every challenge thrown at him – including an untimely rain delay in the sixth game of the deciding set, when the world No.70 had a break point on Nakashima’s serve.
After spending more than an hour in the locker rooms, Thompson managed to snare a crucial break in the first point back on court.
From there, he closed out their Court 9 battle after three hours and 30 minutes on court.
This propels Thompson, who has now won 10 of his 14 grass-court singles matches this season, into the second round at Wimbledon for the third consecutive year.
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic could be his second-round opponent.
“He is the arguably the best of all time, so it’d be a great opportunity,” Thompson said about the potential of facing the No.2 seed for the first time.
“That’s why we play tennis, to play the best players on the on the biggest stages.”
Max Purcell might disagree with that sentiment, after bowing out to seventh seed Andrey Rublev on Court 3 earlier in the day.
And while there were bright spots for the 25-year-old Aussie, Rublev was ultimately too powerful and steady, storming into the second round in straight sets.
Purcell’s last memory of competing at the All England Club was a resoundingly positive one; he combined with compatriot Matt Ebden to win the gentlemen’s doubles title last year.
In the opening stages of his clash with Rublev, that comfort on the lawns shone through as he pressured the Russian repeatedly on serve.
Yet against the tide, Rublev scored a service break in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead, and maintained his advantage…
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