Jordan Thompson Stuns Alexander Zverev in Japan Open Opener
Australian wins second top-10 match of the year
In the Japan Open's opening round on Monday, Jordan Thompson defeated ninth-ranked Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4 to record his second victory over a top-10 opponent of the year.
After losing their sole prior match six years prior, the 29-year-old Australian saved four of the five break points he faced en route to winning his first career match against Zverev.
In March, he also defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, ranked seventh, in Indian Wells.
The 60th-ranked Thompson stated, "I fought off an 0-40 first game and really got into the match after that."
"Yet I persevered, playing a wildly inconsistent brand of tennis, and I believe he struggled to adjust in the first set and improved in the second. But I lingered in some way.
Next up for Thompson is a matchup with qualifier Taro Daniel or Shanghai Masters semifinalist Ben Shelton.
The other three Australians competing on Monday all lost: Mackenzie McDonald defeated Max Purcell 7-5, 6-4; Sebastian Ofner defeated Christopher O'Connell 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-5; and Felix Auger-Aliassime, ranked sixth, defeated Aleksander Vukic 7-6 (3), 6-7 (2), 6-2.
top-ranked Tuesday's matches feature Taylor Fritz taking on Cameron Norrie in the first round and second-seeded Casper Ruud facing wild-card entrant Yosuke Watanuki.
Hubert Hurkacz, the winner of the Shanghai Masters, is also in the draw.
On Wednesday, he starts against Zhang Zhizhen.
