‘F**KING TICKER’: THOMPSON DEFINES GRIT WITH ANOTHER FIVE-SET WIMBLEDON VICTORY

(Getty/Kirill Kudryavtsev)

A fortnight ago, after Queens, Jordan Thompson looked unlikely to even play Wimbledon, at least if he was a normal tennis player.

In his own words, he “could barely walk, couldn’t bend down to get things out of my suitcase, and didn’t hit for nearly two weeks”.

Two weeks on, he’s into the Wimbledon third round for the second time in his career. But it has not been easy.

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After coming from an improbable position, two sets to love down on Monday, Thompson again scored a comeback five-set victory on Friday despite all sorts of pain.

The Australian defeated Benjamin Bonzi 7-5 6-7(2) 6-4 2-6 6-4 in three hours and fifty-one minutes on Court 15.

Despite his world no.64 status, Bonzi was in grass-court form, having convincingly beaten Daniil Medvedev in the opening round.

And Medvedev, who couldn’t have spoken highly enough of Bonzi’s level, suggested the Frenchman would progress to the fourth round, having ‘seen his draw’: a path which had Jordan Thompson next up.

Back brace on, coming off a three-hour-forty-minute five-setter on the hottest day one in Wimbledon history, and despite not hitting a ball on his day off due to pain, Thompson somehow took to the court. That felt like a win in itself.

Down two sets to one, and with his movement clearly impeded, everything was going against the 31-year-old, bar one thing: grit.

“Competitive juices, that’s about it,” Thompson replied when asked what is keeping him going.

The Aussie forced a decider, of which he spent a good chunk leaning against the scoreboard, or the fence. Simply, whatever could hold him up.

But serving first, he continued to hold his way to a 4-5 lead, where break, and subsequently, match point opportunities presented, and he snatched them.

“Honestly, the only thing that brought me a smile is obviously the win, and the fact that I didn’t have to be out there anymore because it was so tough,” Thompson said when asked how satisfying the moment was.

As Bonzi’s final stroke sailed long, Thompson roared, double fist bumped, and then pointed to his heart while looking at his box, particularly at Lleyton Hewitt.

“The whole week, everyone’s just told me to show some ticker. So, I just pointed to it and said: that’s f**king ticker,” Thompson revealed.

And when told that his fight was very similar to that of his Davis Cup captain, Thompson replied, “that’s where it was coming from, that’s who I said it to.”

While his body is admittedly ‘cooked’, the Aussie is aware that the draw is wide open in his section and a significant chance presents to reach a grand slam second week.

“It’s hard not to [see the opportunity]. I mean, there’s no beating around the bush. It could be a lot worse. I just wish my body was in a different circumstance,” Thompson admitted.

He will either play Italian Luciano Darderi – known for his clay court prowess – or British wildcard Arthur Fery, who defeated Alexei Popyrin in round one.

The victor will not be known until Thursday in London, after Darderi led two sets to love before light suspended the match.

Four Aussies advanced in round one Wimbledon doubles action on Wednesday, highlighted by Maya Joint and Kimberly Birrell who won their first match as a pair.

John-Patrick Smith and Rinky Hijikata also progressed with their respective partners.

Smith, who paired up with Brazil’s Fernando Romboli, defeated American duo Alex Michelsen and Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 7-5, while Hijikata prevailed from a set down to win alongside David Pel 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(9).

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