By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, December 30, 2024
Photo credit: Chris Hyde/Getty 

Poised for seeded status at The Happy Slam, Aussie Jordan Thompson made a positive start to the new season.

Thompson rallied past former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his Brisbane opener today.

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World No. 26 Thompson, who knocked off Rafael Nadal in the Brisbane quarterfinals last January, advanced to a second-round rematch vs. American Alex Michelsen, who saved a match point edging Aussie Christopher O'Connell 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(10).

Thompson says the toughest test of the 2025 season is the fact it starts in 2024 giving players, particularly Aussies, very brief rest.

"[The offseason] feels like two seconds," Thompson said with a smile. "Yeah, it's a tricky one, especially for us Aussies. We practically leave after the Australian Open and we don't come back until Davis Cup is finished. The season's that long. We come back at the end of November.

"Yeah, we're away for 10, 11 months. It feels like literally we get three weeks off if you play Davis Cup. That's great. Then you got them pushing for an earlier start."

Thompson ripped the schedule as "a joke."

"I don't know how the '25 season starts in '24. I mean, it's a joke," Thompson said. "We should be playing next week. There's a lot of things in our sport that need a bit of cleaning up at the moment."