Already a Grand Slam champion on the doubles court, Canada’s Vasek Pospisil entered new territory as a singles player by moving into the fourth round at a major for the first time in his career thanks to a thrilling five-set victory over local favourite James Ward.
Trailing Ward by two sets to one – the Londoner himself looking to make the last 16 at a Grand Slam for the very first time – the Canadian produced a final set serving exhibition to win 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 8-6 after three hours and five minutes on No.1 Court.
After British fans’ heartbreak watching Heather Watson come so close to upsetting world No.1 Serena Williams on Friday, it was the second time inside 24 hours that a home-grown player had come close to breaking new territory.
But few could argue with the quality of Pospisil’s play over the closing stages. The 25-year-old dropped just three points on serve during the final set.
The Canadian world No.56, who won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title 12 months ago alongside American Jack Sock, will face Serbian No.22 seed Viktor Troicki on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.
After beating No.30 seed Fabio Fognini in the second round, Pospisil went into the contest as favourite and a break in the seventh game of the first set thanks to a knifed backhand volley helped him bag the opener in exactly half an hour.
Ward is nothing if not a fighter though – as his five-set Davis Cup win over John Isner proved earlier this year – and he played himself back into the match by dominating the second and third sets as Pospisil’s error count started to rise.
The Canadian needed to react quickly and he did just that at the start of the fourth. He engineered three break points in the fourth game and when Ward dumped a forehand in the net on the third of those, a tense and partisan crowd settled in for a decider.
Nothing could separate the two men for the first 12 games of that fifth set, but there was trouble ahead for Ward at 6-all when he found himself trailing 15-40.
He held his nerve admirably to save the first break point with a second serve ace, but when his forehard volley found the net moments later Pospisil was just a service hold from victory.
Although Ward won the opening point of that decisive 14th game, more big serving helped Pospisil cross the finish line and move into a new phase of his burgeoning career.
Afterwards, Ward was quick to give credit to his opponent. “It was impressive serving, especially at the end,” said the Briton, who will move into the top 100 for the first time in his career. “We both went through different stages of playing well, serving well. And, you know, his came at the right time. Towards the end of the match, it was difficult to break.”