By Marc McGowan
Australia’s Jordan Thompson has become the first player since Nick Kyrgios in Washington two years ago to win the singles and doubles titles at the same ATP Tour event.
Thompson completed the rare feat in Los Cabos, Mexico with countryman Max Purcell only a few minutes shy of 3am local time, after playing three matches – the singles final and two doubles matches – across the previous seven hours.
Jordan Thompson has won his first ATP Tour title with a win over Casper Ruud in Los Cabos.Credit: AFP
The 29-year-old fended off a swag of break points to upset world No.12 Casper Ruud 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) and capture his maiden singles title in what he described as a “miracle” result after overcoming several testing matches.
He battled for almost four hours to outlast sixth-ranked German star and top seed Alex Zverev in his semi-final a day earlier for his third career top-10 triumph.
Thompson spent eight hours and 40 minutes on court in total across two days and will rise to a career-high singles ranking of No.32 for his efforts, up from 40.
Ruud, who converted only two of 13 break points in the singles final, was also on the losing side against Thompson in their doubles semi-final. Thompson and Purcell defeated Ecuador’s Gonzalo Escobar and Kazakh Aleksandr Nedovyesov 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) in the doubles decider.
Thompson’s biggest challenge came in the quarter-finals against top-ranked Australian Alex de Minaur’s conqueror, American teenager Alex Michelsen, where he rallied from 6-0, 4-1 and 15-40 down to somehow survive, before ousting Zverev 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2).
“I really have no idea [how I won],” Thompson said. “I spent so many hours on the court this week, and in the quarter-final, I could have got double-bagelled – I could have been losing 6-0, 6-0 – and now I’m about to lift the trophy, so I think it’s still a miracle.”
Thompson lost his only other tour-level singles finals, both on grass at ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, in 2019 and 2023.
The turning point
Nothing came easy for Thompson in the final against Ruud, who would have returned to the top 10 if he won the Los Cabos final.
He staved off two break points in a seven-minute opening service game, then two more in the fifth game to forge 3-2 ahead, in what seemed an ominous start for him after his marathon effort just to reach the decider.
But everything changed a game later, when the Aussie fighter clobbered an inside-in forehand winner to break Ruud to love against the flow of play.
Thompson goes on the attack against Casper Ruud in the singles final of the Los Cabos Open.Credit: EPA/Jorge Reyes
In fact, Thompson reeled off 13 points in a row from those break points down, but still needed to save two more break-back points – both off Ruud errors – before securing a one-set edge.
Thompson displayed his full arsenal of tricks, dodging trouble repeatedly with his big serve, while frustrating Ruud with a series of slices, gutsy baseline play and sharp volleying from the net.
He brought up his set point with a magnificent forehand winner that he curled around Ruud at the net.
Thompson immediately went a break down in the second set, but won five of six games from 0-2 down to be a game away from victory. He tried desperately to break Ruud and avoid having to serve for the match, but the Norwegian hung on in a gruelling game.
Thompson’s net play was a factor in his Los Cabos final triumph over Ruud.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Thompson never came close to clinching the final in the next game, dropping serve to level the contest at five-all. However, he dug deep to reach a tiebreaker before an untimely Ruud double fault paved the way for Thompson’s victory.
Thompson needed just one match point, delivering a searing first serve then thrashing a forehand winner off Ruud’s short return to clinch the title.
He told this masthead in an extensive interview ahead of last year’s US Open that the next goal he wanted to tick off was earning a grand slam seeding for the first time – and he has never been closer to that being a reality.
Thompson’s quarter-final run at Delray Beach last week put him inside the world’s top 40 for the first time before he beat local wildcard Ernesto Escobedo, Emilio Nava, Michelsen, Zverev and Ruud en route to the Los Cabos title.
He has few points to defend between now and the start of Roland-Garros in late May, so he has put himself in an excellent position.
Thompson has suffered six first-round exits from eight trips to the claycourt major and typically avoids the red dirt as much as possible, but a seeding would be hugely beneficial for him if he can maintain that status for Wimbledon.
He is an accomplished grasscourt performer and could do some damage with a friendlier draw. A seeding means he would not have to play a seeded rival until at least the third round.
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