Thompson hands Australia winning start
Jordan Thompson has beaten Jiri Vesely in straight sets to give Australia a 1-0 lead in the Davis Cup.
489 Glenferrie Rd, Kooyong VIC 3144, Australia, 3 February 2017 | Tennis Australia
After kissing his Aussie tattoo on his biceps Jordan Thompson declared his winning Davis Cup debut as the best feeling of his life.
Sydneysider Thompson, a self-confessed tennis and rugby league tragic, got Australia off to a flying start in their world group first round tie against the Czech Republic with a 6-3 6-3 6-4 win over their No.1 player for the tie, Jiri Vesely.
World No.65 Thompson said that playing Davis Cup was a dream come true, only topped by his first-up win.
Thompson said he became hooked on Davis Cup back in 2003 during current Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt’s famous victory over Roger Federer in the semi-final, when he fought back from two sets to love and 3-5 down.
“It was unbelievably satisfying. I couldn’t really describe it out there. It was the best feeling in the world,” 22-year-old Thompson said of his win over Vesely.
“I’ve always wanted to play tennis for Australia and always wanted to be in the Davis Cup.”
Thompson broke 54th-ranked Vesely in the opening game of the match and apart from a slight stumble in the third, was never troubled.
“That was huge, to get off to a great start and break first game and then hold, that gave me a lot of confidence and really relaxed me and I really took it from there and sort of ran away with the match,” Thompson said.
It continued a magic summer for Thompson – winning the men’s doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Brisbane International, making the second round of the Australian Open singles draw for the first time and reaching a career high ranking.