Comeback king Jordan Thompson kicks on as Wimbledon claims another big gun

Aussie Jordan Thompson furthered his reputation as a comeback king with another stirring triumph as yet another star crashed out of Wimbledon.

Jordan Thompson may be taking a break when he leaves Wimbledon to nurse his battered body back into shape but it could be a while before that happens after the Australian recorded another comeback five-set win.

Entering the tournament with a brace for his back, Thompson came from two sets to one down to beat Benjamin Bonzi 7-5 6-7 (2) 4-6 6-2 6-4 in just under four hours to become the first Australian into the third round.

Thompson was inside the world’s top 30 before an injury-hit season dropped him to 44 and cats doubt on how deep he could go in London.

.

.

Jordan Thompson is through to the third round at Wimbledon after another stirring comeback. Picture: Getty Images

But after a stirring opening round victory, Thompson, with Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, watching on, again, defied even his own expectations to set up a next round clash with either Luciano Darderi, ranked 59, or Arthur Fery, the lowly ranked Englishman who upset Alexei Popyrin in the first round.

Frenchman Bonzi took down last year’s semi-finalist Daniil Medvedev in the first round and showed that quality again as he pushed Thompson to the limit.

But the gritty Australian showed he’s always up for a fight, no matter the state of his body, and after losing the second and third sets took the fourth and then the fifth to put him on the verge of making the fourth round for the first time.

Thompson is one of only a handful of the 17 Australians who started the tournament still alive.

ALCARAZ ENDS TARVET’S WIMBLEDON ADVENTURE, PAOLINI CRASHES OUT

Carlos Alcaraz spoiled Oliver Tarvet’s Wimbledon adventure as the defending champion moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over the British amateur, while last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini became the latest star to crash out.

A record-breaking number of seeds crashed out at the All England Club in the first round, but Alcaraz and women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka avoided seismic shocks on Centre Court.

Second-seeded Alcaraz needed two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd.

“First of all I have to give big praise to Oliver. In his second match on the tour, I just loved his game to be honest,” Alcaraz said.

“I knew I had to play my best tennis. I was really happy with my performance but big praise to him as well.”

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates during his win over Oliver Tarvet. Picture: AFP

In the first two days, nine of the top 10 seeded players across the men’s and women’s singles draws were eliminated, a Grand Slam record in the Open era.

Second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen all lost in the first round.

And Italian fourth seed Paolini was next to stumble in the second round. Paolini, beaten by Barbora Krejcikova in the 2024 Wimbledon title match, slumped to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Russian world number 62 Kamilla Rakhimova.

Sabalenka bucked the trend, out-duelling 48th-ranked Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a heavy-hitting contest.

The Belarusian, who suffered painful defeats in the finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open this year, lashed an impressive 41 winners in a match lasting one hour and 35 minutes.

“Honestly it’s very sad to see so many top players losing but you better focus on yourself,” said the three-time Grand Slam winner.

“I hope it’s no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean.”

Originally published as Comeback king Jordan Thompson kicks on as Wimbledon claims another big gun