LONDON (AP) — Perhaps Jordan Thompson deserved a tip of the cap for winning a set-ending point at Wimbledon while clutching his hat after it fell off his head during a serve. His opponent Friday, Luciano Darderi, thought that point shouldn't have been awarded to Thompson, but the chair umpire disagreed.
"I mean, my hat's fallen off before, and I know what the rules are. It didn't hinder him; it hindered me," said Thompson, an Australian ranked 44th who will face U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz next. "So I don't know what he was complaining about."
At 5-4, 40-15 against Darderi, Thompson used a hat trick to put a lid on the opening set en route to a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory that sent him to the fourth round at the All England Club for the first time.
On a second serve, the backward baseball cap Thompson was wearing slid off as he landed on his follow-through. Thompson immediately grabbed it with his left hand and continued to wield his racket with his right hand for a point that wound up lasting seven strokes.
It was capped by Thompson's backhand volley winner as he ran to the net with hat in hand.