‘Something didn't go right': The lob that proved to be Australian's Wimbledon downfall
It was a disappointing, but not particularly surprising, finish to Thompson's best-ever run at the All England Club, which matched his two round-of-16 showings at the US Open.
The Australian retired while trailing fifth seed Taylor Fritz 6-1, 3-0 – already a double-break down in the second set – and having watched the American flash a forehand winner that he had no hope of chasing down to go 40-0 up.
At that stage, Fritz had won 40 of 52 points, and their fourth-round match had long ago lost any competitiveness as referred issues in Thompson's right leg from an ongoing back injury proved his downfall.
The world No.44 started well enough and had two game points to hold for two-all, only to aggravate the injury a point later, when he had to scurry back to the baseline to chase down a Fritz lob – and his physical problems worsened from there.
His coach Marinko Matosevic and Australia's Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt urged him from courtside to call for the trainer, which he eventually did after the third game of the second set.
There was also kinesiology tape on the inside of Thompson's right leg, which he revealed during the on-court assessment after ripping the strapping off. Soon after, he left the court for a medical timeout.
There was an eight-minute delay as all this played out, then Thompson lasted only three more points before walking to the net to put himself out of his misery.
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News.com.au
41 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Wimbledon apologises over embarrassing malfunction blunder
Wimbledon has made major changes to its Electronic Line Calling system and are confident there will be no further blunders. The tournament's much-maligned automatic line-calling system has come under fire after it malfunctioned at a pivotal moment, resulting in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova being robbed of a crucial point on Sunday night (AEST). Serving for the game at 4-4 in the opening set of her round of 16 match against Sonay Kartal, the 34-year-old stopped after Kartal hit a ball clearly long. However, the ball wasn't called out. After several seconds, an automated voice was heard saying 'stop, stop'. Chair umpire Nico Helwerth quickly called for help from tournament organisers and eventually ruled that due to Hawk-Eye technology not correctly tracking the ball, the point had to be replayed, despite replays showing it was several centimetres out. You can watch the controversial moment in the player at the top of the page. Tournament officials were quick to apologise after the match. 'We have apologised to the players involved,' a statement from the All England club read. 'We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball tracking technology. 'In this instance, there was a human error and as a consequence, we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes.' Wimbledon have now communicated its ELC system 'relies on the cameras and technology working in harmony with the operators and Review Officials'. Following a 'thorough review', the All England Club have 'removed the ability for Hawk-Eye operators to manually deactivate the ball tracking', The Sun reports. Though the source of the issue was a human mistake, tennis bosses say 'this error cannot now be repeated due to the system changes we have made'. German official Helwerth was not involved in any matches on Monday but the AELTC say he was simply 'having a rest day'. Hawk-Eye cameras have replaced line judges on all 18 courts for this year's Championships. CEO Sally Bolton said: 'In between matches, the system is deactivated, so it's not functioning when there isn't a match on court. 'So, there is a process in place for activating and deactivating the system, and the humans are the people that need to do the activating and deactivating. 'Why was it turned off mid-match? Well, I don't know. It was a mistake, obviously. 'It had been deactivated. We didn't need to put line judges back on the court again. We needed the system to be active. 'The chair umpire wasn't informed that the system had been deactivated in error. 'So I can be confident that our system is in the best shape it can possibly be at this stage.' Sunday's blunder proved a game-changing ruling with Pavlyuchenkova then going on to have her serve broken. The Russian was understandably irate at the changeover and accused organisers of favouring her British opponent. 'Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me,' she told the chair umpire. 'They stole the game from me. You stole the game from me'. In the end, Pavlyuchenkova regrouped to win the match 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, booking a place in the quarter-final. However, the disgruntled tennis star didn't let it go post-match teeing off on tournament officials. 'I just thought the chair umpire could take the initiative. That's why he's there sitting on the chair. He also saw it out, he told me after the match. I thought he would do that, but he didn't,' Pavlyuchenkova said. 'I think it's also difficult for him. He probably was scared to make such a big decision. But I think they should. That's what they're there for, sitting on the chair. 'Otherwise, I think, soon, let's just play without them. Right? Then we're gonna have everything automatic. 'I think we're losing a little bit of this charm of actually having human being ball boys. Like, during Covid, we didn't have ball boys. It becomes a bit weird and robot sort of oriented. 'They're very good at giving fines though and code violations. This, they don't miss. Every time, any little thing, they're just right there on it. I'd prefer they looked at the lines and called the errors, mistakes better.' Asked what she would have said if the point had ultimately cost her the match, the Russian quipped: 'I would just say that I hate Wimbledon and never come back here!' However, it is far from the only incident at Wimbledon and fans have called for change. 'The new line call tech at Wimbledon was always likely to raise some eyebrows, but having Pavlyuchenkova replay that game-winning point against Kartal is disgraceful,' one aggrieved fan wrote on X. 'Umpire not allowed to make a call when the tech has very clearly failed?! Pavlyuchenkova's game stolen.' 'Anastasia Pavyluchenkova is absolutely right in telling the chair umpire that. That is embarrassing for tennis. It's embarrassing for Wimbledon, the ball was clearly out and the tech failed,' another wrote. While a third added: 'Absolute shambles with the technology. That was miles out' Several players have also voiced that they feel they have also been wronged by the new line-technology. British star Emma Raducanu said she didn't trust it, while Jack Draper said he felt it wasn't 100 per cent accurate.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Wimbledon, Day 8: Alex de Minaur v Novak Djokovic result
Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic endured a nightmare start to his match against Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur on Centre Court, but eventually battled back to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Djokovic survived a scare to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a tense four-set victory over de Minaur on Monday, local time, staying on course for a blockbuster clash with world number one Jannik Sinner. The loss continued a tough pattern of Grand Slam losses for the Aussie. 'It is a tough one. I'm looking right now at my grass season as a whole as a tad disappointing,' he said. 'There are positives [from this loss, but] at the moment, where I am in my career, it doesn't completely fulfil me. I want more. I want to be on the other side of this match and finishing this match coming out on top because I think that's the next step in my career. 'If I'm going to make the next step; these are the types of matches that need to start going my way.' Serbia's Novak Djokovic douses himself in water to cool down during a break in play against Australia's Alex de Minaur. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung Alex De Minaur of Australia reacts against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match on day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2025. Picture:Djokovic was broken in the first game and conceded two more breaks as De Minaur ran away with the first set. 'It wasn't a great start for me, it was a great start for Alex de Minaur obviously. I kind of reset myself in the second set,' Djokovic said. The Serb committed 16 unforced errors, including four double faults in the opener. Djokovic broke immediately at the start of the second set but then became bogged down in a game lasting nearly 19 minutes, which De Minaur won on his sixth break point. De Minaur plays a backhand against Novak Djokovic during the Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match on day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 07, 2025 in London. Picture: Getty Images Novak Djokovic break as he plays against Alex De Minaur as he tried to recover from a rocky start against the Australian. Picture: Adrian Dennis / AFP 'He's playing the tennis of his life. He's definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of Grand Slams,' said Djokovic ahead of the game. '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.' Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts as he plays against Australia's Alex de Minaur during a fourth round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Monday, July 7, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung Both players struggled to hold onto their serve in an attritional battle but Djokovic, pleading for support from the crowd, held his nerve to level the match, letting out a roar as De Minaur went long. Alex de Minaur returns to Serbia's Novak Djokovic during a fourth round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Monday, July 7, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung The third set went with serve until the ninth game, when De Minaur skewed a forehand wide to concede the crucial break. De Minaur found new inspiration in the fourth set, surging into a 4-1 lead but crumbled at the pivotal moment as Djokovic fought back, reeling off five games in a row to seal the win in three hours and 18 minutes. 'I was very pleased to hang in tough in the right moments and win this one,' said Djokovic. Alex De Minaur of Australia shakes hands with Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the net following his defeat during the Gentlemen's Singles fourth round match on day eight of The Championships Wimbledon 2025. Picture: Getty Images Fresh from his 100th win at Wimbledon on Saturday - making him the third player to achieve that feat after Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer - Djokovic reached his 16th quarter-final at the tournament. Aged 38, Djokovic is aiming to win a record 25th major title, breaking a tie with the long-retired Margaret Court, and a record-equalling eighth men's crown at the All England Club. That would make him the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in the Open era. Tennis legend Roger Federer waves after Serbia's Novak Djokovic beat Australia's Alex de Minaur during a fourth round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Monday, July 7, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung Sixth-seeded Djokovic's 101st victory at Wimbledon came under the gaze of Federer, who was sitting in the front row of the royal box alongside his wife Mirka. 'It's probably the first time he's watching me and I've won the match,' said Djokovic. 'The last couple I lost, so good to break the curse. 'No, it's great, obviously, great to have Roger, a huge champion and someone that I admired and respected a lot. 'We shared the stage for so many years, and it's great to have him back.' Sinner gifted quarter-final spot by Dimitrov injury A heartbroken Grigor Dimitrov left Wimbledon's Centre Court in tears on Monday after being forced to retire injured when two sets up in his last-16 battle against Jannik Sinner, handing the top seed a remarkable reprieve. Sinner himself had suffered a nasty fall in the opening game of the fourth-round clash and appeared to be suffering discomfort in his right elbow. The Italian was unable to cope with Dimitrov's varied style across the opening two sets, and was staring at a shock exit when trailing 3-6, 5-7, 2-2. Yet the 34-year-old Bulgarian, who has now retired in each of his past five Grand Slam appearances, pulled up holding his right pectoral muscle and was unable to continue. 'Honestly I don't know what to say,' said Sinner. 'He is an incredible player, I think we all saw this today. 'He's been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player, a good friend of mine also. We understand each other very well off the court too. 'Seeing him in this position, honestly, if there would be a chance that he could play the next round, he would deserve it.' Dimitrov, the 19th seed, served an ace out wide to hold serve for 2-2 in the third set but then collapsed in pain. Sinner rushed to his aid before Dimitrov went off court, but he returned just moments later in tears and was unable to continue, barely able to wave to acknowledge the crowd's warm ovation. 'I hope he has a speedy recovery,' said Sinner, 23. 'It's very unlucky from his side. I don't take this as a win at all. This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us. 'I think already in the last Grand Slams he has struggled a lot with injuries and seeing him now again having this kind of injury is very, very tough. We all saw this with his reaction, how much he cares about the sport.' Jannik Sinner helps Grigor Dimitrov off court after his injury. Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung Dimitrov's injury woes began 12 months ago at Wimbledon, where he slipped and damaged his knee in the first set of his fourth-round clash against Daniil Medvedev. He was forced to retire from matches at the US Open, Australian Open and the recent French Open. Sinner, into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the fourth consecutive year, will next face world number 10 Ben Shelton, who earlier beat Lorenzo Sonego in four sets. He is on a potential semi-final collision course with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, but there will be question marks over the Italian's own fitness after his struggles against Dimitrov. Sinner has never reached the Wimbledon final, going as far as the semi-finals in 2023. He has played in the past three Grand Slam finals, taking the title at the US Open and the Australian Open and losing the French Open showpiece in a five-set epic against Carlos Alcaraz in June. Read related topics: Wimbledon
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Injury rescues world No.1 from early Wimbledon exit
Two sets down and nursing an elbow injury, Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon looked done when the roof was closed on Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov was playing sublime tennis on Monday and the world No.1's five-set record would not have encouraged him, Sinner having lost six, won one. Two games later Dimitrov, having just served an ace to tie up the third set 2-2, slumped to the ground holding the pectoral muscle on the right, serving side of his chest. It looked bad, and it was. Sinner helped his stricken opponent to his feet, the medics attended to the Bulgarian, he briefly stepped off court, then returned and conceded. The 34-year-old was in so much discomfort he had to use his left arm to support his right arm when he shook hands with the chair umpire, grimacing as he did so. This was the fifth grand slam in succession in which Dimitrov has been forced to quit through injury, and he was distraught. And Sinner did not seem like a man who enjoyed his reprieve. "I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness," said the top seed after advancing with the scores 3-6 5-7 2-2. "He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot, so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. "He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court. "Seeing him in this position, if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. "This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad." Sinner, nevertheless, is into the last eight and a meeting with Ben Shelton, who had seen off another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 earlier on Monday. Sinner will hope his elbow complaint, which happened when he braced a fall with his right hand while still holding his racquet, is not serious because Shelton has looked in powerful form. By reaching the last eight, the American beat his watching father's best at Wimbledon, Bryan Shelton having been stopped in the fourth round in 1994. "He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline," Shelton said. In the other quarter-final in this section of the draw, Novak Djokovic, who beat Australia's Alex de Minaur in four sets after losing the first 6-1, will meet Flavio Cobolli. The Italian defeated Marin Ciic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) on No.2 court. Cobolli, who like Shelton is coached by his father, said: "I'm real emotional because this is the day that I never forget." Talking of Cilic, a former US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist, Cobolli added: "Everyone on my family, on my team, always told me that I live for this kind of match. "I think is true because I really love to play against a big player, against a legend of our sport. I like to play on this kind of stage, this kind of tournament." Next up is Djokovic on a show court. They don't come much bigger than that. Two sets down and nursing an elbow injury, Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon looked done when the roof was closed on Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov was playing sublime tennis on Monday and the world No.1's five-set record would not have encouraged him, Sinner having lost six, won one. Two games later Dimitrov, having just served an ace to tie up the third set 2-2, slumped to the ground holding the pectoral muscle on the right, serving side of his chest. It looked bad, and it was. Sinner helped his stricken opponent to his feet, the medics attended to the Bulgarian, he briefly stepped off court, then returned and conceded. The 34-year-old was in so much discomfort he had to use his left arm to support his right arm when he shook hands with the chair umpire, grimacing as he did so. This was the fifth grand slam in succession in which Dimitrov has been forced to quit through injury, and he was distraught. And Sinner did not seem like a man who enjoyed his reprieve. "I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness," said the top seed after advancing with the scores 3-6 5-7 2-2. "He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot, so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. "He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court. "Seeing him in this position, if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. "This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad." Sinner, nevertheless, is into the last eight and a meeting with Ben Shelton, who had seen off another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 earlier on Monday. Sinner will hope his elbow complaint, which happened when he braced a fall with his right hand while still holding his racquet, is not serious because Shelton has looked in powerful form. By reaching the last eight, the American beat his watching father's best at Wimbledon, Bryan Shelton having been stopped in the fourth round in 1994. "He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline," Shelton said. In the other quarter-final in this section of the draw, Novak Djokovic, who beat Australia's Alex de Minaur in four sets after losing the first 6-1, will meet Flavio Cobolli. The Italian defeated Marin Ciic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) on No.2 court. Cobolli, who like Shelton is coached by his father, said: "I'm real emotional because this is the day that I never forget." Talking of Cilic, a former US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist, Cobolli added: "Everyone on my family, on my team, always told me that I live for this kind of match. "I think is true because I really love to play against a big player, against a legend of our sport. I like to play on this kind of stage, this kind of tournament." Next up is Djokovic on a show court. They don't come much bigger than that. Two sets down and nursing an elbow injury, Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon looked done when the roof was closed on Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov was playing sublime tennis on Monday and the world No.1's five-set record would not have encouraged him, Sinner having lost six, won one. Two games later Dimitrov, having just served an ace to tie up the third set 2-2, slumped to the ground holding the pectoral muscle on the right, serving side of his chest. It looked bad, and it was. Sinner helped his stricken opponent to his feet, the medics attended to the Bulgarian, he briefly stepped off court, then returned and conceded. The 34-year-old was in so much discomfort he had to use his left arm to support his right arm when he shook hands with the chair umpire, grimacing as he did so. This was the fifth grand slam in succession in which Dimitrov has been forced to quit through injury, and he was distraught. And Sinner did not seem like a man who enjoyed his reprieve. "I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness," said the top seed after advancing with the scores 3-6 5-7 2-2. "He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot, so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. "He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court. "Seeing him in this position, if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. "This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad." Sinner, nevertheless, is into the last eight and a meeting with Ben Shelton, who had seen off another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 earlier on Monday. Sinner will hope his elbow complaint, which happened when he braced a fall with his right hand while still holding his racquet, is not serious because Shelton has looked in powerful form. By reaching the last eight, the American beat his watching father's best at Wimbledon, Bryan Shelton having been stopped in the fourth round in 1994. "He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline," Shelton said. In the other quarter-final in this section of the draw, Novak Djokovic, who beat Australia's Alex de Minaur in four sets after losing the first 6-1, will meet Flavio Cobolli. The Italian defeated Marin Ciic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) on No.2 court. Cobolli, who like Shelton is coached by his father, said: "I'm real emotional because this is the day that I never forget." Talking of Cilic, a former US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist, Cobolli added: "Everyone on my family, on my team, always told me that I live for this kind of match. "I think is true because I really love to play against a big player, against a legend of our sport. I like to play on this kind of stage, this kind of tournament." Next up is Djokovic on a show court. They don't come much bigger than that. Two sets down and nursing an elbow injury, Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon looked done when the roof was closed on Centre Court. Grigor Dimitrov was playing sublime tennis on Monday and the world No.1's five-set record would not have encouraged him, Sinner having lost six, won one. Two games later Dimitrov, having just served an ace to tie up the third set 2-2, slumped to the ground holding the pectoral muscle on the right, serving side of his chest. It looked bad, and it was. Sinner helped his stricken opponent to his feet, the medics attended to the Bulgarian, he briefly stepped off court, then returned and conceded. The 34-year-old was in so much discomfort he had to use his left arm to support his right arm when he shook hands with the chair umpire, grimacing as he did so. This was the fifth grand slam in succession in which Dimitrov has been forced to quit through injury, and he was distraught. And Sinner did not seem like a man who enjoyed his reprieve. "I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness," said the top seed after advancing with the scores 3-6 5-7 2-2. "He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot, so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. "He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court. "Seeing him in this position, if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. "This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad." Sinner, nevertheless, is into the last eight and a meeting with Ben Shelton, who had seen off another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 earlier on Monday. Sinner will hope his elbow complaint, which happened when he braced a fall with his right hand while still holding his racquet, is not serious because Shelton has looked in powerful form. By reaching the last eight, the American beat his watching father's best at Wimbledon, Bryan Shelton having been stopped in the fourth round in 1994. "He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline," Shelton said. In the other quarter-final in this section of the draw, Novak Djokovic, who beat Australia's Alex de Minaur in four sets after losing the first 6-1, will meet Flavio Cobolli. The Italian defeated Marin Ciic 6-4 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) on No.2 court. Cobolli, who like Shelton is coached by his father, said: "I'm real emotional because this is the day that I never forget." Talking of Cilic, a former US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist, Cobolli added: "Everyone on my family, on my team, always told me that I live for this kind of match. "I think is true because I really love to play against a big player, against a legend of our sport. I like to play on this kind of stage, this kind of tournament." Next up is Djokovic on a show court. They don't come much bigger than that.
