O’Connell becomes first Aussie into Wimbledon’s last-32

Ian Chadband | July 8, 2023

Chris O’Connell has broken into new territory, reaching the third round of an overseas grand slam for the first time as he became the first Australian to reach the last-32 of this year’s Wimbledon.

O’Connell, who also battled through to the third round of his home Open in Melbourne last year, was in inspired mood on his fourth successive day on court as he defeated dangerous Czech left-hander Jiri Vesely 6-3 7-5 6-4.

It was another encouraging milestone for the 29-year-old Sydneysider, who’s enjoyed a big year with success on the clay and now a major breakthrough on the grass as he set up a prospective last-32 meeting with Cameron Norrie on Saturday if the British star can beat American Christopher Eubanks.

Vesely was a notable scalp.

Injuries kept the Czech out of much of last season, and another hamstring problem on his return in April meant his ranking plummeted to 528, but his pedigree at Wimbledon is considerable after twice making the last-16.

O’Connell continued a fine season which also featured a big victory over Alexander Zverev to reach his first ATP tournament semi-final earlier this year in Munich.

He had endured a tough first-round match, which had stretched over three days because of constant frustrating rain delays before he finally defeated Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, but the win over Vesely was much more straightforward.

In bright sunshine, O’Connell raced into a 4-1 lead, but the Czech fought back, a successful challenge after one of his shots had been called ‘out’ enabling him to earn the break back. 

It proved the only time in just over two hours of combat the Australian dropped his serve.

A double fault from Vesely that gifted an instant break back in the first set helped put O’Connell back in control, as he took the opener in 37 minutes and then began to control proceedings more as the Czech seemed to struggle a touch in the heat.

O’Connell’s win ensures an Australian presence over the weekend, with Alex de Minaur – up against Italy’s 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini – and Jason Kubler, facing Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, hoping to join their compatriot later on Friday.