Jordan Thompson saved Australia from an opening day whitewash at Wimbledon and continued his streak of comeback wins from two sets down, to pull off another miraculous win at The All England Club.
Australia went into this year’s tournament with a record contingent not seen since 1995 but it turned into a potential wipeout in a matter of hours.
It appeared as though Thompson was going to follow the same path as Alexei Popyrin, who was bundled out in four sets to world No.461 Arthur Fery..
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Thompson, 31, said ahead of the tournament that he would not be playing if it wasn’t Wimbledon and took to the court with the aid of painkillers and a back brace.
And it looked like it was going to be an early exit when he went down two sets to Czech player Vit Kopriva before completing a gutsy 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 comeback win across three hours and 37 minutes.
The moment was uncanny for Thompson, considering it was the third year in a row he had come back from two sets down to win on the same court.
But the reality is he’s no certainty to play his next match, especially since his service action was heavily impacted by injury.
“There’s a lot of discomfort, can’t say I’m really enjoying it,” he told Stan Sport post-match.
“I’m doing my best. I mean, we’re playing at Wimbledon. If there’s any place to play through the pain, it’s here.
“I just told myself let’s just try and get through the match, Managed to sneak a break, holding on to serve, and won the third, snuck the fourth in a tiebreaker, and sort of grabbed momentum.
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“Winning that tiebreaker, fought off, love 40, first game of the fifth, and, yeah, sort of got up and away and run away from him.”
He added: “But I felt pretty shit, to be honest. It’s tough. I haven’t practiced, I’ve been injured, haven’t played many tournaments, and haven’t played at 100 per cent this year, it feels like, so I can’t say I’m enjoying it too much.”
Thompson confirmed he won’t hit on the practice court ahead of his second round match against France’s Benjamin Bonzi, trading shots for time spent on the physio table and a hyperbaric chamber.
Alexei Popyrin of Australia wipes his face with a towel against Arthur Fery of Great Britain during the gentlemen’s singles first round match on day one of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 30, 2025 in London, England. Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images
The Frenchman eliminated No.9 seed and grand slam champion Daniil Medvedev.
Thompson’s victory was the only bright spot for Australia with Popyrin headlining seven Australian first-round exits, with Kim Birrell, Chris O’Connell, Olivia Gadecki, James Duckworth, qualifier Talia Gibson and Ajla Tomljanovic all falling.
Popyrin also found himself two sets down against Fery, 22, but was unable to conjure the same fighting spirit as Thompson and went down 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 49 minutes.
There were nervy moments for Fery in a see-sawing nine-minute final game of the day that featured a double fault and an air swing from Popyrin, along with three deuces.
But Fery held on to claim his first main-draw win at The Championships, sinking to his knees on court 15, just down the road from where he went to school.
“I gotta give him so much credit because he had so many opportunities in this fourth set, and he could have really been let down by not taking them, but that was gutsy, and that was just great composure,” former Australian pro Jelena Dokic said on the Nine commentary.
Arthur Fery of Great Britain celebrates match point against Alexei Popyrin of Australia during the gentlemen’s singles first round match on day one of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 30, 2025 in London, England. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
She said Popyrin would be “disappointed” but would learn from the match.
“Perhaps those first two sets, just let that slip away, and it was hard to come back from that,” she said.
It was a strong opening day across the board for hometown players, with a heavy British presence in the draw, but a tough day for Australians.
Arthur Fery of Great Britain (right) greets Alexei Popyrin of Australia at the net following victory during the gentlemen’s singles first round match on day one of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 30, 2025 in London, England. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Chris O’Connell and Kimberley Birrell were both bounced out of the first round in straight sets.
Birrell lost the first set to Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-0 in just 33 minutes.
The 27-year-old fought hard in the second, but ultimately lost 6-4, unable to break the 22-seed.
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Kimberly Birrell of Australia in action against Donna Vekic of Croatia in the first round on Day One of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 30, 2025 in London, England (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images) Getty
Birrell was the first Australian to bow out of Wimbledon on day one of play.
She had four break point opportunities in the match, but was unable to convert one, while her opponent made good of three of her six.
O’Connell was the next Aussie out in straight sets, going down 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 to France’s Adrian Mannarino.
It was a tough loss for the higher-ranked Aussie, who wasn’t able to bounce back from a slow start.
Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko became the first seed bundled out of the tournament, losing in three sets to the United Kingdom’s Sonay Kartal.
