Thompson’s First Grand Slam Has a Great Ring To It
The Hill’s biggest tennis export, Jordan Thompson, can now proudly display his first Grand Slam after partnering good mate Max Purcell to win the recent US Open doubles crown in New York.
“To be grand slam champions, it has a great ring to it, especially after what happened at Wimbledon,” Thompson said. “It got a bit tense there at the end, with match points, but we stuck with it and we got there in the end.”
The experienced duo saw off the challenge of the 10th seeded Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), becoming the first all- Australian doubles team win the US Open after legends Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge in 1996. The new doubles champs shared a huge cheque for $A1.15 million.
Thompson, an alumnus of Oakhill College, Castle Hill, is enjoying some of his best tennis at 30 years. He broke into the top 30 singles ranks for the first time after making the last 16 of the US Open singles, and is ranked seventh in doubles.
To top it off, Thompson is a key member of Australia’s Davis Cup team which has stormed into the finals of the prestigious event.
Thompson and Purcell, the 2024 Paris Olympics doubles champ, are a terrific combination this year, also capturing ATP doubles titles in Houston, Los Cabos and Dallas.
The US Open win atoned for their heartbreaking loss in the doubles final at Wimbledon in July, when they were narrowly defeated by Great Britain’s Henry Patten and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara who saved three championship points.
At the US Open, Thompson and Purcell recovered from squandering two championship points at 5-3 in the second set to win the title.
Purcell said: “I guess the camaraderie of Australian players, we all kind of stick together, Thommo and I especially. That’s a huge factor in why we win.”
There was no time for Thompson to enjoy his Grand Slam breakthrough title, because he flew to Spain to join the Australian team competing in the Davis Cup in Valencia.
Australia, coached by tennis ace Leyton Hewitt, qualified for the Davis Cup finals to be staged in Malaga, Spain, from November 19-24.
