London, Great Britain, 18 June 2024 | Rhys de Deugd

Queen’s Club, Great Britain

Jordan Thompson is through to the final 16 at the Queen’s Club for the third time in his career after an upset win over seventh seed Holger Rune.

The Australian snapped a five-match losing streak with a 4-6 7-6(4) 6-3 victory over the star Dane, in what was an impressive display in the pair’s first meeting.

Thompson was on song with his serving, allowing Rune just one break point opportunity in the first set, and zero for the rest of the match.

“I served pretty well the whole day and he served well as well,” Thompson said.

“Just a break here and there that decided the match, and a tiebreaker.”

The world No.43 will either face compatriot Alexei Popyrin or five-time Queen’s champion Andy Murray in the second round as he eyes off a maiden quarterfinal at the prestigious event in London.

Joining Thompson in the second round is fellow Sydneysider Rinky Hijikata, who advanced passed world No.28 Frances Tiafoe when the American retired early in the third set.

Hijikata started strongly in the first set by winning 40 percent of his return points, which allowed him to claim two breaks of serve and take the opener 7-5.

Tiafoe fought back to claim the second set, before stopping after one game in the decider due to a fall resulting in a hip injury.

“Up until that point I felt I was playing pretty well, I felt like I had a pretty good serving performance today,” Hijikata said as he moves into the second round at the Queen’s Club for the first time.

“Obviously not the way you want to go through and I feel pretty awful for Frances, hopefully he can recover quick.”

The grass-court experience against highly-ranked opponents will give Hijikata a great boost as he sets his sights towards his Wimbledon main-draw debut later this month.

“Playing Wimbledon has always been a dream of mine and I was pretty shattered a couple years ago when I lost last round of ‘qualies’,” Hijikata said.

“Being (in) on my own merit this year is a big positive and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Aussies in action – Queen’s Club

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Jordan Thompson (AUS) d [7] Holger Rune (DEN) 4-6 7-6(4) 6-3
[Q] Rinky Hijikata (AUS) d Frances Tiafoe (USA) 7-5 4-6 1-0 ret.

Men’s qualifying doubles, first round
Julian Cash (GBR)/Robert Galloway d  [1] John Peers (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-7(4) 6-3 [13-11]
[2] Alexander Erler (AUT)/Lucas Miedler (AUT) d [WC] Rinky Hijikata (AUS)/Henry Patten (GBR) 6-7(4) 6-4 [10-10]

COMING UP
Men’s singles, first round
[2] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Lorenzo Musetti (ITA)
[Q] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [WC] Andy Murray (GBR)

Men’s doubles, first round
[1] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) v Qualifier
Alex de Minaur (AUS)/Sebastian Korda (USA) v [2] Rajeev Ram (USA)/Joe Salisbury (GBR)

Men’s singles, second round
[Q] Rinky Hijikata (AUS) v TBD
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v TBD

Birmingham, Great Britain

Ajla Tomljanovic made a promising start to her Birmingham campaign, breezing past Anna Blinkova 6-2 6-1 in the opening round.

The two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist needed just 77 minutes to set a second-round meeting with China’s Zhu Lin, who denied third seed Sorana Cirstea at the WTA 250 event.

Tomljanovic, who missed three of the four majors last year due to a knee injury, was back on court in just her fifth event since February.

The 31-year-old last week won four straight matches for the first time since November en route to an ITF quarterfinal on grass at Surbiton, where she fell to compatriot Olivia Gadecki.

We love to see @Ajlatom back doing what she does on the grass 🌱🤩#GoAussies pic.twitter.com/wvDZNQlTin

— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) June 17, 2024

Aussies in action – Birmingham

RESULTS

Women’s singles, first round
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) v Anna Blinkova 6-2 6-1

Women’s singles, qualifying final round
Daria Saville (AUS) d Cristina Bucșa (ESP) 7-6(5) 6-4

COMING UP

Women’s singles, second round
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) v Zhu Lin (CHN)

Women’s singles, first round
Daria Saville (AUS) v [2] Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)

Women’s doubles, first round
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS)/Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v [WC] Samantha Murray Sharan (GBR)/Eden Silva (GBR)

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