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Andy Murray and Milos Raonic stunned by Aussie upsets

Jordan Thompson makes short work of top-ranked Andy Murray at Queens.

Jordan Thompson makes short work of top-ranked Andy Murray at Queens. Photo: EPA

Jordan Thompson shocked World No.1 Andy Murray in straight sets on a great day for Australian tennis that also saw Thanasi Kokkinakis defeat Milos Raonic.

Thompson, ranked 90th in the world, beat Murray 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 at the Aegon Championships, held at London’s Queen’s Club. It is an event Murray has won five times before.

Tuesday’s action [local time] at the traditional lead-up event to Wimbledon was also notable for Kokkinakis’ 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6) win over World No.3 Raonic.

Thompson served superbly in his win, hitting 12 aces, as he became the first player Murray failed to break in a match since Roger Federer achieved the feat in 2015.

“I played really well, served great,” Thompson said.

“Got a lot of free points and gave myself every opportunity in the rallies and didn’t make too many errors.”

Thompson did not even qualify for the tournament, losing to France’s Jeremy Chardy in his bid to make the main draw.

But Aljaz Bedene’s withdrawal to injury opened the door for Thompson as a ‘lucky loser’ – a chance he did not pass up.

“When I got here, someone [Bedene] pulled out, and I got to play Andy,” he said.

“When I heard I was playing Andy, I was pretty nervous. I just wanted to go out there and enjoy it.

“Beating the world No.1 and a grand slam champion, and beating him on grass at Queen’s, yeah, it’s definitely ranked number one [in my victories].”

Murray paid credit to Thompson afterwards and hailed his big serving.

“He played better than me,” he said.

“I didn’t create loads of chances, really. I didn’t return particularly well. He served big. He served well.”

The joy for Aussies continued at Queen’s as Kokkinakis showed his potential with an outstanding win against last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, Raonic.

thanasikokkinakistennis

Kokkinakis celebrates his victory. Photo: Getty

Kokkinakis entered the match with just four ATP Tour clashes under his belt this year after a persistent shoulder problem.

But he upset Raonic thanks to a series of big plays in both tiebreaks and later described it as the “best win of my career”.

“To do it so soon after coming back from a long lay-off is a huge confidence booster for me,” he said.

“I have been practising pretty good and then [I] came out on the court and I’m nervous as anything.

“My first few forehands hit the back fence. I’m like, ‘Geez, this is bad again’. Luckily my serve helped me in it and I won the big points when it mattered, so it’s huge.”

Kokkinakis admitted he recently thought about walking away from the sport after a string of injuries.

“I was being serious [about quitting],” he said.

“I’m usually not a hot head, but in practice a couple weeks leading into Roland Garros, I was just, like, breaking racquets every day and that’s not me. I was just hating it.”

Bernard Tomic also won on Tuesday [local time], toppling German veteran Tommy Haas 6-4 6-4 at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.

Haas – who beat Roger Federer last week – had no answers for Tomic, who smashed 33 winners and hit seven aces.

Nick Kyrgios – who watched Kokkinakis play – withdrew from the Queen’s tournament with a hip injury earlier this week. He is expected to be fit for Wimbledon.

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