Chris O’Connell is through to his first ever Grand Slam third round, after sealing a sensational straight sets win over Czech Jiri Vaseley at Wimbledon.
The Aussie made just 15 errors and hit 37 winners in the 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 triumph.
He is now the last remaining Australian in the singles draw, after losses to Alex de Minaur and Jason Kubler.
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“All the odd jobs I’ve worked at … boat cleaning, working in clothes shops, tennis coaching, delivering flyers, I think back on those, and I’m like, ‘wow, now I’m here’,” he said after the match.
The 29-year-old Sydneysider will pocket a cool $251,500 even if he’s knocked out by his third round opponent, American Chris Eubanks, who defeated Brit Cam Norrie in four sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
He could also break into the top-50.
“This time last year, getting to the top-100 was a huge goal of mine. So to be sitting here a year later, looking at top-50, that’s awesome,” O’Connell said.
Elsewhere, De Minaur was completely outplayed by Matteo Berrettini – out in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Berrettini, who lost the 2021 Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic missed three months last year after hand surgery, and missed Wimbledon after contracting COVID-19.
Following the match, de Minaur – who was Australia’s leading hope coming into Wimbledon after Nick Kyrgios’ withdrawal – cut a dejected figure in his press conference.
“This one will sit with me for a while. I’m not happy at all – it’s a pretty bad situation to be in,” de Minaur said.
Watch Wimbledon 2023 live and free on 9now. Alternatively, you can stream every match live, ad-free and on demand on Stan Sport, with centre court in 4K UHD.
Aussie drops opening set
“I’m probably more disappointed in the fact of being out in the second round, not maybe as much as the opponent I lost to.
“I knew that going in, he hasn’t been there for a while, but this week he’s kind of shown up (and) shown what he was able to do a couple of years ago by making the final.
“I’ll try not to dwell on it, but it won’t be easy.”
Chilean 25th seed Nicolas Jarry blasted 30 aces on his way to a four-set 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win over Jason Kubler.
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