Australia’s Alex Bolt has cemented his spot in the men’s main draw at Wimbledon after producing an “unreal” comeback triumph against Swiss Leandro Riedi.
Bolt, who was a last-minute stand-in at Wimbledon qualifying, produced one of the “top two” performances of his tennis career, rallying from two sets down to surviving a match point to defeat Riedi 6-7 (7/9), 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-5, 6-4.
The 31-year-old is ranked 234 and was named as an alternate for the qualifying event, with a spot opening in the draw just 10 minutes before his first match.
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“You couldn’t write a better script for the journey I’ve had this week,” Bolt said.
“I was actually about to go get a feed at the restaurant when my name got called over the loudspeaker saying someone had pulled out, so I had 10 minutes to get my whites on and get on the court.”
Bolt went on to defeat Argentina’s Nicolas Kicker 6-1, 6-4, before beating Germany’s Rudolf Molleker by the same scoreline.
The comeback campaign looked set to end on Friday morning (AEST), as Riedi took a two-set advantage and held match point at 6-5 in a third-set tiebreaker.
Bolt, who reached the third round at the Australian Open in 2019 and has been hindered by injuries in recent years, engineered a “clutch” serve before initiating an unbelievable comeback plan in what was his first five-set match in over four years.
He prevailed through a three-hour 41-minute duel to secure his spot at Wimbledon, joining nine other Aussie men who will compete on the All England Club green.
”Just super proud of my efforts just to hang around in the match,” he said.
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“I let opportunities in the first set slip and I kinda let that take control of my mind for the next hour and a bit, and then he got the second set as well playing really good tennis.
“I kept hanging around, managed to turn the tides … yeah, unreal.”
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Bolt, who competed at Wimbledon in the doubles draw in 2014 and 2018, said he has gained “all the confidence in the world” after his win.
“I’ve got nothing to lose.”
Twenty-two-year-old Aussie Olivia Gadecki joins Bolt at the Championship after qualifying for the first time in the women’s singles draw. She will represent the nation alongside Ajla Tomlajnovic and Daria Saville.
”It means so much to me,” Gadecki told tennis.com.au.
“You really work for these moments and to be able to walk through those gates being in the main draw is something I’ve dreamt about my whole life.”