Australia's Jordan Thompson defeats Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at Italian Open as Rinky Hijikata and Chris O'Connell bow outTopic:Tennis1h ago1 hours agoWed 7 May 2025 at 9:07pmJordan Thompson managed to battle through injury to claim an early victory at the Italian Open. (Getty Images: Mateo Villalba)In short:Jordan Thompson defeated Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in three sets to advance at the Italian Open.Fellow Australians Rinky Hijikata and Chris O'Connell both bowed out in tough match-ups.What's next?Alexei Popyrin is the next Australian player up in the men's draw as he takes on Spain's Carlos Taberner.abc.net.au/news/tennis-italian-open-jordan-thompson-claims-early-tournament-win/105266748Link copiedShareShare articleJordan Thompson has defied injury concerns to once again prove a "nightmare" for one of the rising young stars of world tennis at the Italian Open.For the third time in less than six weeks, the Australian number three stood up to another barrage of monster serving from 21-year-old French prospect Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard to prevail after a final-set tiebreak 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) at Rome's Foro Italico on a rainy Wednesday in the capital.The 31-year-old eventually pulled off his fifth straight win over the much-touted 203cm youngster, despite Mpetshi Perricard sending down 13 aces on the clay, with one delivery timed at a fearsome 235kmh despite still having to deal with a niggling oblique muscle injury."I was actually not sure if I was going to be able to play today, but I'm glad I gave it a go — but my body might not be thanking me tomorrow," a smiling Thompson told the Tennis Channel.Loading Twitter contentThompson, who had a groin problem in Monte Carlo then had to withdraw from the Barcelona Open singles with the oblique problem and missed Madrid, has endured a troubled clay-court campaign but said that, somehow, he has become Mpetshi Perricard's "nightmare match-up", having beaten him in Monte Carlo and Miami."I've got an OK serve myself, my second serve's a good kicker, so he can't really run around too many, and then I block a lot of returns that just frustrates the hell out of him," said Thompson, who has fallen back to world number 41 this year.Indeed, he has been defeating Mpetshi Perricard so often of late that Thompson evidently even felt a bit sorry for him."It's a tough one. I actually felt bad at the net today," Thompson said."Generally, I don't really care. I take the win, but I would say 'no empathy'. But today I didn't even say anything at the shake of hands. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to hear from me, he doesn't want to see me — so I got out of his way pretty quick."Next up in the second round, Thompson has another tough assignment against American Brandon Nakashima, the world number 29 who he has played at the last two Wimbledons, winning in 2023 but losing last year.Thompson was the only Australian man to progress on a damp day, with Chris O'Connell proving no match for Britain's former Wimbledon semi-finalist Cam Norrie in a 6-3, 6-2 defeat and his fellow Sydneysider Rinky Hijikata going down 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 to Frenchman Corentin Moutet in a tough two-and-a-half hour duel.The ABC of SPORTSports content to make you think... or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Saturday.Your information is being handled in accordance with the ABC Privacy Collection Statement.Email addressSubscribeAAPPosted 1h ago1 hours agoWed 7 May 2025 at 9:07pm, updated 1h ago1 hours agoWed 7 May 2025 at 9:28pmShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)SportAustralia's best sports rights in the hands of a Soviet-born, former oil tycoonTopic:Media IndustryHeartbreak for Arsenal as PSG claims Champions League final spotTopic:SoccerPhoto shows GettyImages-2213307878Fate of railyards earmarked for athletes' village hangs in balanceTopic:Olympic Games VenuesPhoto shows Black and white photo of locomotive parked in front of sheds and railway line. 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