No. 87 Jordan Thompson upsets second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in third-set tiebreaker

WATCH: Jordan Thompson defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2023 Indian Wells second round

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.— It was just after 5:00 p.m. today in Indian Wells when Australian Jordan Thompson entered the media interview room of the BNP Paribas Open. As a rare rainstorm soaked the grounds of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the 87th-ranked Thompson took in the scope of what he’d just accomplished: a scintillating 7-6 (0), 4-6, 7-6 (5) win over second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas.

This was the second Top 10 win of Thompson’s career, the only prior one coming nearly six years ago versus Andy Murray in London.

“Today was a little bit different,” the 28-year-old said when asked to compare those two peak moments. “You know, I have been on a bit of a run of matches. I felt confident, even playing against a Top 10 player I felt comfortable in my own skin and what I was doing, and just snuck out a win.”

After losing to Tsitsipas the previous two times they’d played, the third proved the charm for Thompson this afternoon on Stadium 1. The Thompson serve was particularly effective, the Aussie winning 83 percent of his first serve points and 80 percent of his second.

For all that, though, the match came down to the two final points, Thompson’s great movement helping extract a pair of forehand errors from Tsitsipas.

Prior to the tournament, Tsitsipas had downplayed his chances, citing his continued recovery from a shoulder injury. "I'm still in recovery," he said two days ago. “Personally I haven't said it a lot of times in my career but I don't think I will be capable of going deep.”

Thompson’s demeanor in the wake of this victory was quintessentially Australian—kindly focused and level-headed, even to the point of amusement. Asked what he thought when Tsitsipas attempted to draw the crowd into the match, Thompson said, “I actually started laughing when he was doing that. Not that it was funny that he was doing it. It's more the fact that, you know, we probably want to be in those situations…

“I want to be in these positions. I'm enjoying the battle. It's probably better to be that way than not.”

Also like his compatriots, Thompson is well aware of what his country’s competitive tradition stands for. “I think every Aussie wants to do Australia proud,” he said. “We can go nuts sometimes. Can assure you always generally the majority of the time we're trying our balls off to win.

“I know when I go out there I give 100 percent every time. I know I can complain and get a little bit angry but it never stops me from competing my hardest. It's all I want to do. I think generally that's an Australian quality.”

Having started the year 1-4 in ATP main draw matches, Thompson through the early part of 2023 has been scratching for his best form. But at the end of February, he won a Challenger event in Rome, Georgia. Here at Indian Wells, he began yesterday with an emphatic 6-3, 6-1 win over Gael Monfils. He’s also now significantly improved on his 2-4 career mark at Indian Wells prior to this year’s tournament.

Thompson’s keen sense of perspective surfaced more when he reflected on bizarre moments from his career.

“I mean, for some reason lately my bags go missing. That's quite frustrating,” he said. “I mean, Davis Cup we did a training week and I think my bags went missing twice. Got back to America, bags went missing again. So lately it's just the bag goes missing and it doesn't allow you to practice. So if you're not home you can't really change your clothes. It's a disaster.”

Fortunately, the bags have always showed up. And today, so did Thompson.