Jordan Thompson has defied injury concerns to once again prove a “nightmare” for one of the rising young stars of world tennis at the Italian Open.
For the third time in less than six weeks, the Australian number three stood up to another barrage of monster serving from 21-year-old French prospect Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard to prevail after a final-set tiebreak 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) at Rome’s Foro Italico on a rainy Wednesday in the capital.
The 31-year-old eventually pulled off his fifth straight win over the much-touted 203cm youngster, despite Mpetshi Perricard sending down 13 aces on the clay, with one delivery timed at a fearsome 235kmh despite still having to deal with a niggling oblique muscle injury.
“I was actually not sure if I was going to be able to play today, but I’m glad I gave it a go — but my body might not be thanking me tomorrow,” a smiling Thompson told the Tennis Channel.
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Thompson, who had a groin problem in Monte Carlo then had to withdraw from the Barcelona Open singles with the oblique problem and missed Madrid, has endured a troubled clay-court campaign but said that, somehow, he has become Mpetshi Perricard’s “nightmare match-up”, having beaten him in Monte Carlo and Miami.
“I’ve got an OK serve myself, my second serve’s a good kicker, so he can’t really run around too many, and then I block a lot of returns that just frustrates the hell out of him,” said Thompson, who has fallen back to world number 41 this year.
Indeed, he has been defeating Mpetshi Perricard so often of late that Thompson evidently even felt a bit sorry for him.
“It’s a tough one. I actually felt bad at the net today,” Thompson said.
“Generally, I don’t really care. I take the win, but I would say ‘no empathy’. But today I didn’t even say anything at the shake of hands. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to hear from me, he doesn’t want to see me — so I got out of his way pretty quick.”
Next up in the second round, Thompson has another tough assignment against American Brandon Nakashima, the world number 29 who he has played at the last two Wimbledons, winning in 2023 but losing last year.
Thompson was the only Australian man to progress on a damp day, with Chris O’Connell proving no match for Britain’s former Wimbledon semi-finalist Cam Norrie in a 6-3, 6-2 defeat and his fellow Sydneysider Rinky Hijikata going down 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 to Frenchman Corentin Moutet in a tough two-and-a-half hour duel.
Maya Joint pushes champ all the way
Emma Raducanu had visited Rome’s Trevi Fountain on the morning before her Italian Open match against Australian teenager Maya Joint, but didn’t have time to make a wish.
If she had got round to chuck in her three coins, the resurgent British star might have asked for a rather easier evening than the one then given to her in a late-night arm wrestle with the tough, talented 19-year-old.
Joint just kept on fighting when all looked lost and there was no question 2021 US Open champ Raducanu, who has been gradually rediscovering flashes of the form and confidence that marked that amazing Flushing Meadows win, was mightily relieved to eventually prevail 7-5, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3 in a high quality joust.
“The level was really high. Maya played so aggressive and any time I dropped the ball a tiny bit short, she was just all over it. So really proud of how I came through,” said Raducanu, who needed two and three-quarter hours to subdue the US-born Queenslander.
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Raducanu had been two points away from winning in straight sets, only for Joint to break back with the Briton serving for the match.
Joint, who had won through two qualifying matches at the Foro Italico the previous two days to get into the main draw, then played an almost flawless tiebreak to set up a decider.
Raducanu rediscovered her best to race into a 5-0 lead, but Joint simply wouldn’t go away, pulling back the next three games, saving a match point and even grabbing another break point until, finally, the Australian youngster succumbed, clubbing one forehand too long.
Raducanu wondered if her morning’s tourist trip might have lulled her into being a bit too chilled.
“I actually managed to go to the Trevi fountain this morning but I didn’t make a wish because the queue was too long and I didn’t have a coin,” she said.
“It was nice to see the sights and I had a nice lunch on the terrace on the street, all pretty chill but then the toughest part was to trying to then get psyched up for a match after you’d basically had a day off until 6pm.”
Joint, who’s up to a career-high number 78 and could end up a little higher going into her maiden French Open, made it a real examination but, ultimately, ended up losing alongside her two compatriots, Olivia Gadecki and Ajla Tomljanovic, on Wednesday.
Gadecki lost 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-2 to American Carloine Dolehide, while Tomljanovic was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Russian-born Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva.
The only Australian left in the women’s draw is Daria Kasatkina, the 14th seed, who faces a tough opener against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who’s fresh off reaching the quarter-finals in Madrid and who demolished 19-year-old Filipino rising star Alex Eala 6-0 6-1.
AAP
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