Jordan Thompson obliterates racquet in ugly mid-match meltdown

Aussie star Jordan Thompson's Australian Open build-up wasn't quite what he would have liked it to be, with the 27-year-old clearly unhappy after being bounced out of the Sydney Tennis Classic.

Thompson was sent home thanks to a 6-3, 6-2 loss at the hands of American world No.25 Reilly Opelka on Wednesday afternoon.

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It was clearly a frustrating match for Thompson, who struggled to get into his own game against the towering American.

His frustrations boiled over early in the second set, with a wide backhand that handed Opelka a break in serve tipping Thompson over the edge.

He smashed his racquet once on the ground, going back twice more to ensure it had been completely destroyed before fetching a new one.

Speaking on commentary for Stan Sport, former American doubles champion Robbie Koenig said he could understand Thompson's immense frustration.

“You can understand the frustration. His opponent has hardly put a foot wrong,” Koenig said.

“It’s been such intelligent tennis from Opelka.

“I’m not advocating smashing racquets by any means but sometimes when you’re as frustrated as these guys are in the heat of battle, you just need to get that release.

“Get it out of your system, otherwise it lingers.

“Hopefully getting his frustrations out on the racquet would’ve done that for Jordan.”

The outburst failed to spark him to life, with Thompson winning just two more games for the match.

Opelka will take on American world No.68 Brandon Nakashima in Thursday's quarter-final.

Andy Murray powers ahead at Sydney Tennis Classic

Others had better fortune than Thompson on Wedneday though, with Andy Murray through to the quarter finals against David Goffin after defeating No.23 Nikoloz Basilashvili in three sets.

Murray had to do things the hard way after blowing a set point in the opening set, but dug deep to secure the 6-7 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win in Wednesday's match that ended up finishing after midnight.

Basilashvili unleashed a series of outrageous winners throughout the match, forcing Murray to defend for long periods.

But Murray's class shone through when it mattered most, with the world No.135 securing the win in three hours 13 minutes.

Murray was pleased to come away with the win against one of the tour's cleanest hitters.

"It was an unbelievably tough match," Murray said in his on-court interview.

"He's hitting the ball consistently bigger than anyone on tour.

"It's tough, because sometimes you feel like you've done the right thing, and then he hits a huge winner up the line on the run.

"I was having to do a lot of defending, a lot of running. My legs stood up well. I served really well in the last set. I would have liked to have got that first set, I had a number of chances there."

Murray cut a frustrated figure after letting the opening set slip through his fingers.

The 34-year-old was serving for the set at 5-3 before being broken, and he also failed to convert a set point on Basilashvili's serve the next game.

Murray then coughed up a 3-1 lead in the tiebreak.

The frustration continued to build after Murray wasted three set points in the second set.

But he came good in the breaker, and then ran away with the match in the third set.

Murray boasts a 6-0 head-to-head record against world No.45 Goffin, but they haven't met since 2018.

With AAP

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