The grass continues to prove greener in England for Australia’s top performers, with another quartet of players showing days of peak form from the start of Wimbledon, with the reemergence of Alex Bolt in particular a triumph to behold.
On a day when Andy Murray declared he still harbored hopes of a Wimbledon farewell, Bolt and Olivia Gadecki qualified for the championships, while Sydneysiders Max Purcell and Aleks Vukic reached the semi-finals of an ATP Tour event in Eastbourne.
Meanwhile, seven-time champion Novak Djokovic returned to London after a trip to Germany to support Serbia at the European Championships and indicated he will enter the draw for Wimbledon, just three weeks after undergoing surgery on a torn meniscus.
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Djokovic trains just weeks after surgery | 00:29
Bolt trailed 2-5 in the third-set tiebreak to Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi after losing the first two sets in the final qualifying round. He then made a stunning comeback in Roehampton to win 6-7(7) 2-6 7-6(7) 7-5 6-4 in 3 hours and 41 minutes.
The South Australian veteran is ranked 234th and was only an alternate for the qualifying tournament, but after a slot became available just ten minutes before his opening match, the southpaw has turned back the clock and will play in his third Wimbledon.
The 31-year-old, who reached the third round of the Australian Open in 2019 but has since been plagued by injuries, takes the number of Australian men in the schedule, led by ninth seed Alex de Minaur, to nine.
“You couldn’t write a better script for the journey I’ve been on this week,” he told Tennis Australia.
“Two sets behind, match point behind, then you usually don’t come back after that.”
Gadecki, a talented Gold Coast player who regularly played against Ash Barty before the former world number one retired, is playing at Wimbledon for the first time after beating France’s Elsa Jacquemot 7-5 4-6 6-3 in 2 hours and 48 minutes at Roehampton.
The 22-year-old joined Ajla Tomljanovic and Daria Saville in the women’s draw, but James Duckworth, Maddison Inglis and Talia Gibson were all defeated in the final qualifying round.
“It means so much to me. You really work for these moments and to be able to walk through those gates when you’re in the main draw is something I’ve dreamed of my whole life,” she told tennis.com.au
SURBITON, ENGLAND – JUNE 08: Olivia Gadecki, recently pictured playing in Surbiton, will play in her first Wimbledon on Thursday after qualifying in Roehampton. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images for LTA)Source: Getty Images
Purcell, meanwhile, had suffered a lean period after peaking at 40th last October and dropped back to Challenger level in May in the hope of finding some rhythm.
After a number of close defeats of late, he has found form again at Eastbourne and will now play local wildcard Billy Harris on Friday for a place in the final after beating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 7-6 (4).
He was joined in the last four by Aleks Vukic, who, after gaining a lead position as a lucky loser, defeated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3 3-6 7-6 (5).
The 28-year-old is hoping to reach his second ATP Tour final, having reached the deciding match in Atlanta less than 12 months ago. He will face American top player Taylor Fritz, the man who narrowly defeated him in that deciding match.
EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND – JUNE 27: Aleksandar Vukic of Australia serves against Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan during the men’s singles quarterfinal on day six of the Rothesay International Eastbournat Devonshire Park on June 27, 2024 in Eastbourne, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images for LTA)Source: Getty Images
Murray, meanwhile, underwent surgery last weekend to address a spinal cyst after he lost coordination in his legs during a collision with Australia’s Jordan Thompson at Queen’s.
The 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon champion still hopes to at least play doubles at the All England Club with his older brother Jamie Murray, but will wait until the eve of the tournament before making a decision on the singles.
“The rate at which I’m improving now, if it continues like this, an extra 72 to 96 hours will make a huge difference,” Murray said.
“I wait until the last minute to see if I can do it, and I’ve earned the right to do that.
“It’s not clear if I’m 100 percent ready to play or if there’s a zero percent chance that I can play. That’s the situation. I would say it’s more likely that I can’t play singles right now.”
The 37-year-old confirmed he planned to retire after the Olympics – he has booked a family holiday – but does not want his last moment on the pitch to be his effort under duress against Thompson last week.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 19: Andy Murray of Great Britain thanks fans for his defeat as he was forced to withdraw from his match against Jordan Thompson of Australia due to injury in the 16-man men’s singles match on day 3 of the Cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club on June 19, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Djokovic lost last year’s final and his decision on whether to play Wimbledon has major implications for the tournament and also for Australia’s biggest hope Alex de Minaur, given his status as world number 2.
Djokovic said he “felt good” after speaking to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner about his feelings on Friday and gave a thumbs up when asked if he would be in the draw.
Should the 37-year-old player ultimately decide to withdraw before the tournament starts, he will be replaced in the preliminary rounds by the player ranked 33rd.
This would unbalance the draw, with the bottom eighth in particular and the second half of the draw as a whole starting without the guiding light.
Should the 24-time major champion choose to take more time to prepare for the Olympic Games, where he wants to win a singles gold medal at all costs, and withdraw before the draw, De Minaur will finish eighth placed.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 27: Novak Djokovic (L) of Serbia greets Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during a practice session on centre court ahead of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 27, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Several other players, including a few Australians, will start Wimbledon with questions about their fitness.
Thanasi Kokkinakis has not played since withdrawing from the second round of qualifying for Queen’s, when he criticised the slippery conditions on the courts.
Chris O’Connell, who is on the Olympic team, has not played since withdrawing from his first round match at Roland Garros, while Jordan Thompson required medical attention after injuring his back in the semi-final at Queen’s .
Englishman Dan Evans injured his knee at Queen’s but was spotted batting at The Priory in Birmingham on Wednesday with the joint badly bandaged.
Several leading women who have suffered from injuries in the past two weeks, including defending champion Marketa Vondrousova and two-time Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka, have been training at Wimbledon this week.
