Thompson reaches second round in Brisbane
Jordan Thompson was clinical in a first-round victory over Elias Ymer at the Brisbane International on Sunday, and will next tackle either David Ferrer or Bernard Tomic.
Brisbane QLD, Australia, 1 January 2017 | AAP
Rio Olympian Jordan Thompson took advantage of his Brisbane International wildcard by becoming the first man through to the second round.
Thompson flew the home flag high at Pat Rafter Arena by smoothly dispatching another wildcard, Sweden’s Elias Ymer, 6-3 6-2 in 90 minutes on Sunday.
The Sydney 22-year-old, Australia’s third-highest ranked male at No.79, took control of the first-round match early with successive breaks of serve and never looked in trouble.
The dreadlocked Swede, ranked 81 spots lower, fought back strongly after being down 0-4 in 19 minutes to transform the first set into an arm wrestle at 3-4.
But new balls saw the extra speed work in favour of Thompson who then went on to close out his fourth ATP tour win.
“I didn’t make too many errors and returned pretty well and my movement was good,” said Thompson, who rose through the rankings with four Challenger title triumphs last year.
“We were both sweating absolute rockets but overall I thought I handled the conditions well.”
Thompson, who lost a marathon second round clash at last year’s French Open to Ivo Karlovic 12-10 in the fifth set, will play the winner of Monday’s clash between Bernard Tomic and Spaniard David Ferrer.
The victory completed an encouraging start for local fans at 2017’s opening tournament.
> READ MORE: De Minaur, Aiava qualify for Brisbane International
Spain-based Alex De Minaur ensured four Australian men would play in the main draw following his second energy-sapping qualifying triumph in two days.
De Minaur joins Tomic, Thompson and wildcard Sam Groth in the main draw.
John-Patrick Smith’s hopes of getting there as well were dashed despite a mighty effort against American Jared Donaldson, falling 6-2 4-6 7-6(2).