Australia’s back brace-wearing marathon man survives again at Wimbledon

2 months ago 24

London: Australia’s back brace-wearing marathon man has survived again.

Jordan Thompson has already planned an indefinite break after Wimbledon to heal the ailing back that has extended his season of non-stop injuries, but that hiatus will have to wait following another five-set escape.

Jordan Thompson during his match against France’s Benjamin Bonzi.

The 31-year-old, who cast doubt on whether he would play both his first two matches and is competing in a back brace, advanced to the round of 32 at the All England Club for the second occasion – and first time in four years – with a gritty 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 triumph over France’s Benjamin Bonzi.

After dodging trouble when he emerged from a triple-deuce service game to go 5-4 up in the final set, Thompson tightened the screws with some superb deep returns and watched as Bonzi unravelled under pressure.

The Frenchman saved Thompson’s first match point with a searing first serve but dumped a backhand into the net on the next point to seal his fate as the wounded Australian fighter rocked back and roared.

Thompson’s myriad injuries this year – to his right foot, groin, oblique and a separate one to his back – has seen him suffer through the 2025 season, but the smile he flashed towards his player box, including to coach Marinko Matosevic, was enough evidence to suggest this day might be different.

Thompson has rallied to win from a two-set deficit in the first round at each of the past three Wimbledon editions, and six of his last 12 matches at the All England Club have remarkably gone the distance.

As critics, including American star Jessica Pegula, call for men’s matches to be reduced to best-of-three-sets, Thompson had his own take after the first round: “That’s bollocks. There’s a reason it’s been five sets. I’m a traditionalist. I don’t know if it gets any more traditional than Wimbledon, so I don’t agree with that one bit.”

Wimbledon’s upset-strewn opening few days, which Bonzi contributed to by dumping Daniil Medvedev out of the tournament, means Thompson suddenly has a major opportunity to reach the last 16.

He will face the winner of 461st-ranked British wildcard Arthur Ferry, who ousted Australia’s 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, and Italy’s Luciano Darderi in the third round, with fifth-seeded American Taylor Fritz his likely round-of-16 opponent if they make it that far.

Thompson looked to be wilting physically when he fell two-sets-to-one down and faced double break point in the fifth game of the fourth set, only to launch some rearguard action that sparked a tense decider.

It started with a winner after back-to-back overheads then a wonderful angled backhand volley beyond Bonzi’s racquet.

The net is where Thompson won this match, more than doubling the Frenchman’s points from that part of the court. His net-heavy approach was not atypical for him, but was also his way of avoiding gruelling baseline rallies that his back would not have appreciated.

In a match of snap momentum swings, Thompson was also repeatedly forced to dig deep early in the fifth set as Medvedev’s first-round conqueror poured on the pressure.

Thompson staved off a break point in the third game. Bonzi saved two of his own in the next game.

They both escaped from tight games with a series of deuces, but it was Thompson who held firm just long enough to outlast his French foe.

He explained after his first-round win over Czech Vit Kopriva that he needed to shelve his “elevator” serve – which helps him generate significant power from his leg-drive beginning – to start in a more upright stance because of the issue in the sacroiliac joint in his back.

Thompson appeared to have more freedom in the early stages, but started looking ginger and reverted to a more upright action through the middle stages before his first serve came to life when he needed it most.

After winning no more than 71 per cent of his first-serve points in any of the first three sets, he claimed 31 of 36 of them across the last two sets in a match-winning development as he rushed the net at every opportunity. Thompson finished with 20 aces and 76 winners overall to Bonzi’s 13 and 49, respectively.

Four more Australians will be in action on Thursday, headlined by No.11 seed and reigning quarter-finalist Alex de Minaur first-up on court two against French qualifier Arthur Cazaux.

Rinky Hijikata will pit wits with 10th-seeded, fireball-serving American Ben Shelton on the same court later in the day, while Aleks Vukic will step onto centre court to face world No.1 Jannik Sinner.

Daria Kasatkina rounds out the Australian contingent on court three against Irina-Camelia Begu.

No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, dual champion Carlos Alcaraz, Australian Open winner Madison Keys and four-time major champion Naomi Osaka avoided the Wimbledon scrapheap to progress to the third round, but 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini, Donna Vekic, Diana Shnaider and Leylah Fernandez were eliminated.

Marc McGowan travelled to Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia