Jordan Thompson booked a place in the second round of the Australian Open for the sixth time in his career with a 6-7(3) 7-5 6-1 6-1 victory over Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Monday.
Thompson’s ranking dropped from No.27 to his current No.111 after a challenging year managing myriad injuries – including to his right foot, groin, oblique and two separate back issues.
But with his come-from-behind win over Cerundolo – the younger brother of world No.21 Francisco Cerundolo – he can look to recover the form that saw him seeded for the first time at a Slam at AO 2025.
“Yeah, I feel great now. Obviously last year my back was no good. My calf, oblique, ab, foot. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong,” Thompson said with a smile.
“But now I'm feeling good. I didn't play too much last year. When I did play, I didn't really get to finish, so … it's good to get through that first match.”
In a seesawing match – in which Cerundolo committed multiple foot faults – Thompson was rock solid throughout.
Forced to retrieve myriad balls due to Cerundolo’s consistency and court speed, Thompson countered by approaching the net at any opportunity, which disrupted the Argentine’s rhythm.
While Thompson lost a tight opening set in a tiebreak, his first break of the Cerundolo serve in the 11th game of the second set provided a breakthrough; he served out the set to level the match.
From there, Thompson showed his characteristic fighting spirit, never giving Cerundolo an easy point and continuing to move forward and utilise his all-court game.
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As a green and gold army – complete with cork hats, Aussie flags and loud voices – cheered on their man, Thompson seized all momentum. He won 12 of the last 14 games as Cerundolo struggled under the relentless pressure.
Happy about the performance overall, the 31-year-old was particularly pleased with how he finished the match.
“It was tough conditions. I mean, it was so hot at the start. The court's playing quick. Playing a lefty. Playing at your home Slam. He was playing well. No one could get a break there,” he said.
“To sort of sneak a break at the end of the second set, then sort of roll away with the match, that was probably the most pleasing and obviously incorporating a lot of serve-volley at the end there.”
“It's just good to get through that first one and give myself another opportunity.”
Thompson next faces Nuno Borges, who got past Felix Auger-Aliassime after the seventh-seeded Canadian was forced to retire in the fourth set due to cramps.
“You know, he's a quality player. Don't think he really has any holes. Yeah, I'm just going to have to look at that match he played against Felix,” Thompson said.
Spurred on by an energetic crowd on Court 6, Rinky Hijikata was also a first-round winner on Monday, with the Australian wildcard claiming a 6-3 6-3 6-1 win over veteran Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.
The 24-year-old took less than two hours to outclass Mannarino, setting a second-round assignment with No.30 seed Valentin Vacherot.
Aleksandar Vukic couldn’t get over the line against Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante, who was a 7-5 6-2 6-2 winner on ANZ Arena.
The Argentine capitalised on Vukic’s errors to secure only his fourth tour-level match win on hard court and his maiden second round appearance at the AO.
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