A tip of the cap to the Wimbledon player who caught his hat when it fell off but still won a point
Australia's Jordan Thompson returns during his match against Italy's Luciano Darderi during their men's singles third round match on day five of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday July 4, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
Australia's Jordan Thompson returns during his match against Italy's Luciano Darderi during their men's singles third round match on day five of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday July 4, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
Australia's Jordan Thompson returns during his match against Italy's Luciano Darderi during their men's singles third round match on day five of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday July 4, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
Australia's Jordan Thompson returns during his match against Italy's Luciano Darderi during their men's singles third round match on day five of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday July 4, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
LONDON (AP) — Perhaps Jordan Thompson deserved a tip of the cap for winning a set-ending point at Wimbledon while clutching his hat after it fell off his head during a serve. His opponent Friday, Luciano Darderi, thought that point shouldn't have been awarded to Thompson, but the chair umpire disagreed.
'I mean, my hat's fallen off before, and I know what the rules are. It didn't hinder him; it hindered me,' said Thompson, an Australian ranked 44th who will face U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz next. 'So I don't know what he was complaining about.'
Advertisement
At 5-4, 40-15 against Darderi, Thompson used a hat trick to put a lid on the opening set en route to a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory that sent him to the fourth round at the All England Club for the first time.
On a second serve, the backward baseball cap Thompson was wearing slid off as he landed on his follow-through. Thompson immediately grabbed it with his left hand and continued to wield his racket with his right hand for a point that wound up lasting seven strokes.
It was capped by Thompson's backhand volley winner as he ran to the net with hat in hand.
Has he ever carried that bit of his outfit around during a point before?
Advertisement
'That's the first time I can remember,' Thompson said.
In the moment, Darderi thought chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani would stop the point and order them to replay it because of what happened with Thompson's chapeau. The 59th-ranked Darderi, who was born in Argentina and represents Italy, walked to the sideline pointing in Thompson's direction and pleading his case with Lahyani.
At one point, Darderi yanked off his own white hat and yelled, 'It's the rule!'
But Lahyani wouldn't budge, and Darderi chucked his racket toward the sideline seat, drawing some boos from spectators at Court 18.
Advertisement
As the conversation between Darderi and Lahyani continued during the changeover between sets, Thompson pointed out that the rules address when a player's hat hits the court — 'Happened to me a few times,' he said — rather than if it's caught out of the air.
'It didn't seem normal to me to play a point with a hat in your hand. It was strange,' Darderi said at his news conference later. 'But it was just one point. It didn't change the match.'
On that, both players certainly agreed.
'It's not like it was 5-all in the fifth, deuce,' Thompson said. 'Every point's big, but it is what it is.'
___
Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
International boat race held in Pembrokeshire celebrates 10th anniversary
An international water sports event held in Pembrokeshire celebrated its 10th anniversary this summer with top class racing in sometimes tricky conditions. Fishguard Bay Ocean Race (FBOR) began in 2016 as the brainchild of local resident Benjamin Edom, the race has evolved into the Welsh Surfski National Championships and a GB team selection race for events such as this year's World Championships, South Africa. Advertisement 'After spending 10 years in Australia where surfski is a major sport with hundreds of competitors, I wanted to highlight Fishguard Bay's ideal surfski environment and invited some top GB paddlers to give it a go.' says Ben. (Image: Julia Moffett) 'The ski paddlers were captivated by our coastal scenery and the clean, deep ocean at our doorstep –and they came back the next year. Many paddlers now call it their favourite race of the season' The ocean race kept going through the covid years and the event is now the only regatta in the UK spread over an entire weekend. (Image: Julia Moffett) Saturday's race is exclusively for Elite paddlers seeking selection for the GB team on a challenging 17 km course of open ocean from Goodwick, to Newport Sands. Advertisement Sunday's race is open to known competent intermediate and advanced paddlers capable of safely finishing a shorter, more accessible, course from Goodwick to Newport Sands. (Image: Julia Moffett) Also included is the mixed double ski class which enables elites from Saturday to race a second time, again for selection, but in a more fun and relaxed event. New at Goodwick this year, FBOR hosted Fishguard's first AquaPaddle, a water sport equivalent of a park run, where there is no winner and every level of paddler is welcome. Saturday dawned almost still, and the early mist soon turned to fog, blotting out the view of Dinas head from Goodwick Beach. Advertisement (Image: Julia Moffett) However, the race went ahead, with the Safety Officer monitoring everyone via their GPS trackers the restricted visibility was overcome and there was some first-class racing. The Dolphin Wave for first boat across the line went to Jordan Roberts, First Lady to Brynde Kreft for the second year. The Big Dragon Welsh National Ski Championship trophy for fastest Welsh paddler was lifted high by Mat Rowlands of Rhoose for the fourth time, and the Dragon Girl for Welsh female champion was claimed by Liv Geddes of Margam for the fourth time. Trophies were handed out at a splendid ceremony and dinner at Tregroes Pantry. (Image: Julia Moffett) The forecast Sunday was not at all friendly with winds over 20 knots expected. Advertisement The race safety officers assessed the conditions and decided that it was safe to go ahead. In fact, the winds gave prime conditions for a magnificent race Mat Rowlands smashed the course record down to 52 mins 51 secs, with first double ski of Toby Peyton-Jones and Brynde Kreft finishing in 54:36 over a slightly longer course. 'Everyone had a magnificent and really enjoyable paddle with no safety concerns at any stage, either for competitors or the very professional support fleet of local volunteers,' said Ben. The class winners were: Single Open Mat Rowlands Double open: Toby Peyton-Jones and Brynde Kreft Single Masters (over 35): Simon Philpot Single Veterans (over 55): Paul Kingman. Full results can be seen at linked above.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Djokovic wary despite Wimbledon form, dominant Sinner faces Dimitrov
Novak Djokovic and world number one Jannik Sinner face their stiffest tests of the tournament on Monday as they aim to take another step towards a blockbuster semi-final face-off at Wimbledon. Djokovic, who has a record 25th Gland Slam singles title in his sights, meets Australia's Alex de Minaur while Sinner faces the talented Grigor Dimitrov. Advertisement Five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek is the main attraction in a wide-open side of the women's draw as she takes on Clara Tauson. 'Complete' De Minaur concerns Djokovic Djokovic was in supreme form as he demolished compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 to the delight of his seven-year-old daughter Tara, who enjoyed a post-match celebratory dance with her dad. But the seven-time champion is wary of the threat that lies ahead of him in the second week, even before potential meetings with Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who has beaten Djokovic in each of the past two finals. De Minaur was forced to pull out of a quarter-final meeting at Wimbledon with the Serb last year due to injury but gets another shot at glory against one of the sport's all-time greats. Advertisement A two-time winner of grass court titles, the world number 11 has dropped just one set on his way to the last 16. "He's playing the tennis of his life. He's definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of Grand Slams," said Djokovic. "You're not super excited to play Alex de Minaur on grass, that's for sure, because he's so quick and he's a complete player." Dimitrov not stressed by dominant Sinner Jannik Sinner does not have the Wimbledon track record of Djokovic or Alcaraz, but the Italian has been the most dominant player in the men's draw in the opening week. Advertisement The US Open and Australian Open champion has matched the men's Open Era record at Wimbledon for fewest games lost -- 17 -- in reaching the fourth round, set by Jan Kodes back in 1972. Sinner is also yet to lose his serve this year at the All England Club, not that his next opponent appears daunted by that prospect. "We're in the second week of Wimbledon. Let's have fun," said 34-year-old Dimitrov, who knows his days on the show courts at Grand Slams are numbered. The Bulgarian appeared destined to be a future Wimbledon champion when he made the semi-finals in 2014, but has never progressed beyond the fourth round since. Advertisement 'Smooth' Swiatek finds feet on grass A rare defeat at the French Open has helped Swiatek finally feel at home on the grass as the former world number one eyes just a second Wimbledon quarter-final on Monday. Aryna Sabalenka beat Swiatek in the semi-finals at Roland Garros after the Polish player won four titles there in five years, but a slightly earlier exit gave her more time to adjust to the grass. Swiatek reached her first grass-court final in Bad Homburg last week, after which she said there is "some hope" for her on the surface. "This year on grass I had some moments where I just felt comfortable and I didn't have to think much. It was just pretty smooth." A flurry of early exits for all of the top six seeds other than Sabalenka also means Swiatek could make the final without having to play another top-10 player. kca/jw
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
NSW insider answers key question surrounding Nathan Cleary before Origin decider
NSW Blues performance manager Frank Ponissi has claimed Nathan Cleary won't be goal-kicking in the State of Origin decider even though he will be fine to kick in general play. There are a number oc NSW players carrying slight injury setbacks into the decider with Cleary, Brian To'o and Payne Haas battling niggles ahead of Wednesday's showdown. Haas and To'o have not taken part in any training session ahead of the captain's run on Tuesday with some concern around the duo. And Cleary has been struggling with a groin injury heading into Game 3, which limited his impact in Perth. Cleary injured his groin in the captain's run ahead of Game 2, which saw him handover the kicking duties to Zac Lomax. Both Cleary and Lomax have struggled with the tee in the series having only slotted four from nine attempts across both games. Cleary has the best goal-kicking record at club level of any of the NSW players in the team, but questions have remained over whether he will once again drop his goal-kicking duties in the decider due to his injury. And speaking to SEN Radio on Monday morning, Melbourne Storm and NSW Blues high performance manager Ponissi claimed Cleary won't be kicking for goal in the decider. "Yeah, probably unlikely he will be doing the kicking," Ponissi said of Cleary goal-kicking. "We are going to stick with Zac Lomax. But everything else with Nathan, he hasn't missed a beat at hasn't had to be managed in terms of his workload. General play kicking he is fine, it's just won't be kicking." NSW struggled in the first 40 minutes against Queensland in Game 2 with Cleary opting to avoid most of the general play kicking duties due to his injury. Although the halfback emerged in the second-half with the Blues trailing and took back control in a huge improvement for NSW. And it appears he will be kicking from the first whistle in the decider in a massive boost for his state. After the squad was selected last week, coach Laurie Daley backed the Eels winger Lomax to step-up in the decider having already suggested Cleary is set to skip the duties due to his injury. "I doubt whether (Cleary) will goal-kick," Daley said. "I think we'll go with Zac, and Latrell (Mitchell) or Steve Crichton will be on stand-by if something happens to Zac." The stats show Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton are both arguably better options than Lomax, whose kicking percentage declined in his last few seasons with the Dragons. Although NSW fans should expect Lomax to line-up for goal with the Blues relying on the winger to step-up during Cleary's struggles. RELATED: Cameron Munster rocked by devastating news as captain leaves camp Family first as Panthers star withdraws from representative games Another player who has been a huge talking point heading into the decider is To'o. The Penrith Panthers winger was outstanding in Game 2 having scored two tries and ran for more than 200m. However, he injured his knee in the Panthers' win over the Bulldogs in round 17 and hasn't trained with the side yet. Jacob Kiraz was a surprise 18th man selection for NSW and it meant he couldn't line-up for his side against the Broncos on Friday night. And while Ponissi explained the importance of Kiraz's selection in the squad, he does expect To'o to play for the Blues. "It's going to be rare that a team in Origin, in the middle of the season, to have 20 fit 1 we handled it really well, and probably Game 2 we didn't. There were a few disruptions. And the way we selected our 20 was to make sure the injury concerns weren't going to disrupt the team," Ponissi said. "That's why we selected a winger in 18th man. Jacob Kiraz. He has been basically training for Brian To'o all week. If Brian was not going to make it, it would be a smooth transition. We still expect Brian to play. We expect everyone to train this afternoon and the 17 selected to play on Wednesday night." " NSW will be looking to win their second series in a row in front of their home crowd. Queensland coach Billy Slater has made a number of changes ahead of the decider and will be looking to avoid a second series defeat as coach.
