'WORST FLARE-UP I'VE EVER HAD': BRUTAL END TO THOMPSON’S 'PHENOMENAL' WIMBLEDON RUN

Jordan Thompson’s remarkable run to the Wimbledon second week has come to an end at the hands of Taylor Fritz and his own body.

Having expressed his physical struggle all week long, suggesting he was moving “like a snail” and feeling pain across his body, the result does not come as a major surprise.

Taking to Court 1, Wimbledon’s secondary arena, Thompson came out positively and was in control of his service games, winning seven of the first eight points.

However, a high-quality exchange at 1-2, 40-30 saw the Australian successfully retrieve a Fritz lob, but in doing so, visibly aggravate his lower back.

“That lob didn’t help. I went to jump and yeah, something didn’t go right," Thompson revealed.

“After that, I was really hurting and wasn’t moving to really anything. I just felt like I couldn’t push off anymore.

“In the other matches, I felt like I could move and it wouldn’t get worse, but today I just couldn’t move at all.”

Thompson had played 14 sets, including two grueling five-setters to give himself the fourth-round opportunity, and was ultimately unable to push any further.

The Aussie arrived at Wimbledon having retired from Queens with a back injury, and the lingering pain was adding further stress across his body.

“[The injury] is just my back. And then my legs are obviously very tight from compensating," Thompson said when questioned about why both his hamstrings were tightly strapped.

And when asked exactly how long the back had been troubling him, he tongue-in-cheek replied "seven years".

"There’s always been an issue with my back, but this has definitely been the worst flare-up I’ve ever had," he added.

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Fritz, who remained focused on his own game, effectively capitalised on Thompson's impeded movement and raced to a 6-1, 3-0 in just over 30 minutes.

At the change of ends, Thompson halted the momentum: first receiving on-court treatment from his physio, before being taken off-court for further work on his upper right leg.

Upon the restart, his lateral movement was still near non-existent, and the 31-year-old was forced to retire from the match.

Speaking in his press conference, Thompson was asked whether he could take pride in his valiant effort to battle through the week, but he wasn’t feeling particularly impressed with himself today.

“Honestly, I feel like a bit of a pussy pulling out…I wouldn’t call it valiant," he said.

But Thompson was finally free to reflect on the successful week, a run which he'll undoubtedly look back on as one of the toughest and best of his career.

“I wasn’t going to play the tournament...so to end up in the second week is, for me, phenomenal," Thompson shared.

“Down two sets to love in the first round…tiebreak in the fourth set, it's an unbelievable result, especially with the year I’ve had.”

The next phase remains unknown for Thompson, who first needs to make a call on doubles tomorrow, where he is scheduled for a third-round clash with Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

"I told [Pierre], if by some miracle I wake up tomorrow morning and feel like I had been in the previous matches, I’ll play, but I’d say a 95 per cent chance of not playing," Thompson stated.

He will then undertake another MRI scan to determine the specific diagnosis on his back, which Thompson believes is a herniated disc.

The Sydney-sider will return to his home city for a rehab block, with hopes of then heading to North America to play two lead-in events before the next major in New York commencing August 24.

Attention shifts to Demon

The defeat leaves Alex de Minaur as the final Australian standing in Wimbledon singles action, set to take on one of tennis' toughest assignments on Monday at Wimbledon.

‘Demon’ faces seven-time Novak Djokovic first up on Centre Court, an arena on which the Serbian has only lost to one man (Carlos Alcaraz) in twelve years.

The fourth-round clash will get underway from 1:30 pm local time (10:30 pm AEST) as de Minaur eyes the biggest victory of his tennis career.

In day seven doubles action, Rinky Hijikata and Dutch partner David Pel scored a significant win over third-seeded German pair Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz.

Having entered the draw as last-minute alternates, Hijikata and Pel triumphed 6-2 6-4 early on Sunday afternoon.

The 24-year-old Aussie is into the third round of a grand slam men’s doubles draw for the second time, having won the Australian Open title with Jason Kubler on the other occasion.

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