Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson aren’t just squaring off for a likely Wimbledon shot at Rafael Nadal.
The one-time Davis Cup teammates will also be duelling on Tuesday for the Australian No.2 ranking behind Alex de Minaur.
So dramatic has Thompson’s rise been since he departed New York demoralised and ranked world No.111 after a first-round US Open defeat last September that the 25-year-old now sits only one spot behind Kyrgios at No.44 in the world.
While Kyrgios has disappointed since his dazzling run to the title in Acapulco, when the former Wimbledon quarter-finalist saw off Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, John Isner and Alexander Zverev in successive matches, Thompson has continued on a tear triggered by a soul-searching return to the Challenger ranks.
“At the end of last year, I won two of my last Challengers. I made a final the week before so it was two out of three, three finals in three weeks, so that was a real confidence boost,” Thompson said.
“And then getting into a real good, long pre-season allowed me to hit the ground running (in 2019).”
In a season of milestones, Thompson’s last-32 French Open showing was further evidence of his inspired revival.
“Third round of a grand slam for the first time, on clay. That was huge,” he said.
Fast forward a month and Thompson has six grasscourt wins under his belt this campaign, compared to Kyrgios’s one.
He beat de Minaur en route to the final in s-Hertogenbosch, then went out in a third-set tiebreaker in the semi-finals in Antalya last week.
“I didn’t drop serve all week so I was within a whisker of making another final, so I’m pretty happy with the grasscourt form,” Thompson said.
It’s no fluke either. Thompson has always been capable.
Just ask Andy Murray.
Murray was world No.1 when Thompson sent him packing from the Queen’s Club two years ago with what the dual Wimbledon champion hailed one of the best serving performances he’d encountered.
Thompson respects Kyrgios, but knows he can compete with him too.
“It’s always tough playing a fellow Aussie. It’s a different feel but at the end of the day when you step on court, it’s just another match and you can’t look at it any other way. You’ve just got to go about your business,” he said.
Fined $25,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct – including accusing a line judge of “rigging the game” – at Queen’s last month, Kyrgios has left former world No.1 John Newcombe wondering what type of mood the mercurial star will bring to Tuesday’s match.
“It’s hard to think that he wouldn’t want to be here. He had his breakthrough here so I’m sure he’d want to be here,” Thompson said.
“It’s awesome to be here and I love coming back here. Probably the history of tennis is right here and if you didn’t want to be here, there’s something wrong with you.”