Melbourne, Australia, 3 February 2021 | Leigh Rogers

Jordan Thompson is the top-ranked Australian player at this week’s Great Ocean Road Open – and he’s proudly flying the Aussie flag.

The No.11 seed moved into the third round with a hard-fought 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory over France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert at Melbourne Park today.

“He’s a tough player. He’s a world-class doubles player, world-class singles player,” Thompson said. “He plays on the edge, takes a lot of risks, and even in that last game, he pushed me. I had to serve it out pretty tough and save a break point. It felt like he was red lining, going after everything. I was just ready to move and just try to make as many balls as possible.”

https://twitter.com/TennisAustralia/status/1356867894416605184?s=20

Noting an improvement on serve from his opening round, Thompson is thrilled to be getting valuable match practice this week.

“I haven’t played anything since October, November. It’s good to be playing matches,” said the world No.52, who remains alive in both the singles and doubles draws this week. “Already played three in two days, got more to come. So it’s great prep.”

Thompson was the sole winner in Great Ocean Road Open singles matches today.

The breakthrough runs of Christopher O’Connell, Max Purcell, Aleksandar Vukic and Dane Sweeny, who  all won their first ATP main draw matches earlier this week, ended against seeded opponents. While Matthew Ebden lost a tough three-set battle against Brazilian Thiago Monteiro.

GREAT OCEAN ROAD OPEN

TODAY’S RESULTS

Men’s singles, second round
[11] Jordan Thompson (AUS) d Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) 6-4 3-6 6-3
[2] Karen Khachanov (RUS) d [WC] Max Purcell (AUS) 7-6(5) 6-3
[4] Jannik Sinner (ITA) d Aleksander Vukic (AUS) 6-2 6-4
[8] Alexander Bulbik (KAZ) d Christopher O’Connell (AUS) 7-6(2) 6-7(8) 6-4
[13] Aljaz Bedene (SLO) d [WC] Dane Sweeny (AUS) 6-0 6-4
Thiago Monteiro (BRA) d [Alt] Matthew Ebden (AUS) 6-7(4) 6-4 6-3

Men’s doubles, first round
Robin Haase (NED)/Sam Querrey (USA) d [Alt] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS)/Dane Sweeny (AUS) 6-4 2-1 ret.

COMING UP

Men’s singles, third round
[11] Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Mario Vilella Martinez (ESP)

> VIEW: Full Great Ocean Road Open men’s singles draw

Men’s doubles, second round
Jordan Thompson (AUS)/Max Purcell (AUS) v [1] Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)/Robert Farah (COL)
Matthew Ebden (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) v Luke Bambridge (GBR)/Dominic Inglot (GBR)

> VIEW: Full Great Ocean Road Open men’s doubles draw

Tickets for the Melbourne Summer Series, which begin from $20 for adults and $5 for children, are available through Ticketmaster. All events will be played within the Margaret Court Arena Zone at Melbourne Park.

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