Jordan Thompson sole Aussie victor on opening day of US Open

Jordan Thompson was the sole Australian victor on an opening day which saw the nation’s entire female contingent wiped out of the US Open.

Sydney’s Jordan Thompson returns a shot during his first-round match against Stefano Travaglia of Italy on day one of the US Open

Jordan Thompson weighed up the benefits of travelling to New York for the US Open before opting to trust the COVID-19 safeguards the tournament enacted.

The uncertainty of the situation prompted his coach Jaymon Crabb to remain at home.

But despite a tournament eve scare when Benoit Paire tested positive to coronavirus, the gamble has worked for Thompson who posted an opening-round win in New York on Tuesday.

The Sydneysider was the sole Australian victor on an opening day which saw the nation’s entire female contingent wiped out, though not without a fight. World No 1 Ash Barty opted against travelling this year.

Thompson will be hoping compatriots Alex de Minaur, John Millman, Chris O’Connell and James Duckworth are able to join him in the last 64 when the play their opening matches on the second day of the US Open.

Pitted against Italian Stefano Travaglia, the 26-year-old posted a 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-2 victory in 2hr 41min to reach the second round in New York for the third time.

The Davis Cup representative was far tighter from the baseline than his rival, making only 27 unforced errors over four sets to the 55 made by Travaglia.

The draw has opened for Thompson, who played two matches in qualifying last week for the Cincinnati Masters, after his next rival Egor Gerasimov ousted 18th seed Dusan Lajovic.

Crabb, who remained in Sydney, has been communicating daily with the world No 63 and said the chance for Thompson to resume playing in the US was too important to ignore.

He said Thompson and the rest of the Australian contingent enjoyed strong camaraderie and were providing each other with support through the event.

“We discussed it and he thought it was a great opportunity to go for a grand slam and have the trust in the tennis community to keep it as safe as possible,” he said.

“I decided not to go, mainly because of the uncertainty of what happens if you are a coach and you catch the virus, staying in a hotel in America and how you would get back to Australia and also the 14 days quarantine in a hotel makes the trip a bit longer.

“The Aussie guys get on well. They are using each other for energy and practice and support over there. I think there are a lot of cards being played and a lot of backgammon.

“Pretty much every day (we talk) about how his training has been going, who he is working with, what is going well, what hasn’t been going well.”

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Neither Thompson or Crabb had watched a lot of Travaglia play. Nor has the Australian faced Gerasimov before. But they will review footage of the Belarusian prior to the match.

“We have a good system at Tennis Australia where we are sent through a lot of video analysis of a lot of their previous matches,” Crabb told TAB Radio.

While no other Australian was successful on day one, several went the distance in their matches.

In his US Open debut, Melburnian Marc Polmans was beaten in five sets by Marcos Giron.

Maddison Inglis fell in three sets to 24th seed Magda Linette, Lizzie Cabrera also fell in a deciding set to Danka Kovinic and Astra Sharma was denied in a third-set tiebreaker by 19th seed Dayana Yastremska.

Arina Rodionova received a late call-up but was beaten by Madison Brengle, while Ajla Tomljanovic fell to former Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber 6-4 6-4.

Kerber, a three-time major winner who was playing her first match since the US Open, was delighted to progress against the talented Australian.

“For me, it’s a special situation. It’s an important match that I played today, because you really don’t have expectations on yourself,” Kerber said.

“You don’t know where you are (at) and how you can make the transition now to the match courts, which is always a little bit different than just practising.”

THOMMO ADVANCES! 💪

Jordan Thompson is through to the second round of the #USOpen, claiming a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Italian Stefano Travaglia! 👏 #GoAussies 🎾🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/K4oP7dq1aW

— Aussie Tennis Talks (@AusTennisTalks) August 31, 2020