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Australian Jordan Thompson has a tough first-up task at Wimbledon as he faces 25th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Can the 23-year-old cause a massive upset or will his tournament end before it has even started? Join The Roar from around 10pm (AEST) for live scores.
Jordan Thompson has experienced a meteoric rise in 2017 and will go into his second Wimbledon campaign with some impressive performances under his belt. The Sydneysider has split his season between the Challenger circuit and ATP Tour, making his way to the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International earlier in the year.
After an early exit at the Roland Garros to John Isner back in May, Thompson kicked off his grass campaign at the Surbiton Challenger, progressing to the final following scalps over Dustin Brown and Denis Shapovalov before eventually going down to Yuichi Sugita in consecutive tiebreakers 7-6, 7-6.
Thompson had a short-lived stint at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, enduring a first round loss to Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-1 before entering qualifying at Queen’s.
The Aussie bundled out of qualifying at the final hurdle with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 loss against the resurgent Jeremy Chardy however, he was granted a place in the main draw as a lucky loser.
Thompson made the most of his opportunity, drawn against Andy Murray and sending ripples through the tennis world with a straight sets victory 7-6, 6-2, in doing so earning his first grass court win on the ATP World Tour and also his first victory against a top ten player.
The Australian will be all the better for the win, entering Wimbledon with immense confidence having moved to world No.77.
If he is to cause another upset on grass, Thompson will need to get off to a strong start and work Ramos-Vinolas around the court. Despite a stark difference in the rankings between the pair, the match looks to be a relatively even battle given Thompson’s impressive form.
Ramos-Vinolas has had an unsuccessful start to his grass season, losing at Halle to Andrey Rublev 6-7, 7-5, 6-4. It will put him at a disadvantage having had little preparation on grass however, the clay specialist has proven in the past he can perform well at Wimbledon, reaching the third round last year before falling in four sets to seventh seed Richard Gasquet.
Only one meeting has come between the pair, at the Milan Challenger in 2014. Ramos-Vinolas held out the young Aussie in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Since then however, Thompson has gained plenty of experience.
The winner will be primed for a date with the winner of the match between qualifiers and Wimbledon first-timers Andrey Rublev and Stefano Travaglia.
Prediction
An upset may well be on the cards with Thompson every chance of sending Ramos-Vinolas packing. Expect the Aussie to come out on top in a five-set thriller.
Thompson in five sets.
Join The Roar from around 10pm (AEST) for live scores following the completion of Tatjana Maria versus Anastasia Potapova and be sure to drop a comment in the box below if you’re watching the match.
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