Unheralded Aussie topples Aus Open finalist in ‘unreal’ boilover

Unseeded Australian Jordan Thompson shocked third-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6, (7-0), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) on Friday in the second round of the Indian Wells WTA and ATP Masters 1000.

Thompson, ranked 87th in the world, notched his second career victory over a top-10 player when a blistering forehand from Tsitsipas landed just wide.

Thompson, 28 and ranked 87th in the world, secured the upset when a blistering forehand from Tsitsipas landed just wide on the first match point.

“I’m thankful that last ball was out -- I thought it was in,” Thompson told fans on court.

He gained his first victory over Tsitsipas in three career meetings, ending the Greek player’s chances of rising to number one in the world over the course of the “Sunshine Double” of Indian Wells and the following Miami Open, both joint WTA and ATP Masters 1000 events.

For Tsitsipas it was another setback in the wake of his run to the Australian Open final in January.

He departed Melbourne energised despite falling to Novak Djokovic in the title match, but shortly thereafter suffered a shoulder injury.

Playing his first tournament since a second-round exit at Rotterdam, Tsitsipas admitted earlier this week that with his shoulder still troubling him he didn’t have high hopes of a third Masters 1000 crown.

Thompson, who defeated French veteran Gael Monfils in the first round, next faces either US 32nd seed Maxime Cressy or Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo.

“It’s unreal,” he said, crediting an aggressive mindset in the first set with putting him on the path to victory.

While Tsitsipas led the third-set tiebreaker 2-1 and 4-3, Thompson held his nerve and Tsitsipas was the one to blink, slamming a forehand into the net before the near miss on the final point.

Australian Jason Kubler also advanced, following a three-set walkover against Grigor Dimitrov.

Kubler was leading 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 3-0 when a hobbled Dimitrov succumbed to injury.

Meanwhile, third-seeded Casper Ruud and former champion Cameron Norrie reached the third round with straight sets victories.

For Ruud, a 6-2, 6-3 victory over former top-10 Argentinian Diego Schwartzman was a confidence-boosting win in a season in which he had so far failed to advance past the second round in three tour-level tournaments he had played.

For Norrie, however, a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Taiwanese qualifier Wu Tung-lin marked a continuation of the form that saw him reach finals last month in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro where he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the first and beat Alcaraz in the second.