By Marc McGowan
An exasperated Jordan Thompson could only stare and offer an agonised smirk to his coach Marinko Matosevic, as he did many times on Wimbledon’s opening day.
Positioned perfectly at the net, the Australian regretfully chose to leave the incoming ball, then watched helplessly as it dropped in for a winner.
Jordan Thompson is into the second round at Wimbledon after a gutsy fightback.Credit: Getty Images
It was a costly error of judgment because it left him two sets down to Pavel Kotov, a pudgy Russian with a rocket-launcher forehand who saved match points to beat Thompson at Madrid barely two months ago.
But, as it worked out, Thompson had Kotov exactly where he wanted him.
The world No.40 was in the same position 12 months ago against Brandon Nakashima – who he will meet again in the second round this year, after the American took out 18th seed Sebastian Baez – and rallied back for what was then the sixth five-set win of his career, including his third from a two-set deficit.
You can make that four now.
Thompson rose from the canvas on a raucous court 10, with fans hanging over the side fences, to defeat Kotov 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 across four-plus hours to avoid being the second Australian to exit the grasscourt major.
He was one of three Australians to win on the opening day at Wimbledon, advancing to the second round alongside Daria Saville and Aleks Vukic, while Max Purcell and Alex Bolt lost their first round matches.
Thompson’s stirring comeback looked a bit dicey towards the end when he gave back one of his two breaks, but he hung on, with Matosevic urging him on from one side of the court and Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt on the other.
“Honestly, I think it’s more of a mental battle. I’m 30 now, and my pre-seasons are behind me,” Thompson said.
Pavel Kotov had Thompson on the ropes but could not finish the job.Credit: Getty Images
“Obviously, I do pre-season now, but I think it counts more when you’re younger, and you’re doing so much repetition work to try and get fit, and build a base, and I think my base is pretty strong.
“I played for four hours and hadn’t really hit the practice courts too much before this tournament, so that’s nice to know that’s taken care of well before this tournament started.”
Just as importantly, the back issue that bothered him in his semi-final defeat at Queen’s Club was not a problem.
There was also some animated dialogue at the end of the third set between Thompson and the chair umpire about how long Kotov was taking between points, but that only spurred him on rather than serving as a distraction.
Earlier, qualifier Bolt had numerous chances against eighth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud, particularly in the first two sets, but repeatedly failed to capitalise in a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-4 loss after saving five match points.
Thompson seemed headed for the same fate in what would have been a disastrous start to Australia’s Wimbledon campaign.
Daria Saville is into the second round.Credit: Getty Images
Saville, who had not won at Wimbledon since reaching the last 32 six years ago, blitzed American Peyton Stearns 6-4, 6-2, while Vukic dramatically rallied from down a break twice in the fifth set – and saved a match point in the 10th game – to oust Austria’s Sebastian Ofner 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8).
“I’m pretty happy with how I played, and more so how I handled it,” Saville said.
“It’s a bit of a relief because I lost first round at the French and Australian Open … today, obviously, there were moments when I didn’t play well, but I think in big moments, I played good tennis and backed myself, instead of feeling anxious.”
Eastbourne runner-up Max Purcell could not replicate his form from last week, falling 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen.
Thompson won a five-set battle against Vukic at this year’s Australian Open, and has come out on top in four of his past five matches that went the distance. It is six from nine if you go back even further.
It was not always that way: Thompson won only two of his first 10 five-setters. However, one of those victories – at the 2017 Australian Open against Portugal’s Joao Sousa – proved crucial to unlocking the belief that helped him realise his five-set potential.
Down two sets on a punishingly hot Melbourne day that touched 38 degrees, a 22-year-old Thompson managed to triumph from that unenviable scenario for the first time.
“I ended up winning like three, two and one [in the final three sets], and I just felt like I was on top of the world,” he said of the Sousa win.
“It gave me so much confidence to know that I can come back from any deficit.
“Obviously, you need to play well still, but just to know that the fitness is taken care of is a big win.”
Even still, Thompson insisted after improving his five-set record to 8-11 that he does not enjoy the experience and must start better against Nakashima this time after dropping the first two sets 6-2, 6-2 a year ago.
“I feel like it’s ageing me,” he joked. “Two-sets-to-love down; it’s such a mental battle. I went down two sets to love at the French Open and lost the third set 6-0, but obviously, it’s a different surface.
“I just know there’s such a long way home, and sometimes it’s not too enjoyable, especially being down two sets to love.
“You’ve got to go all day to try and get it back, and there’s no room for error.”
Marc McGowan is at Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia.
Watch Wimbledon 2024 from July 1 live and exclusively free on Nine and 9Now with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand with centre court in 4K on Stan Sport.