Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Injured Davis Cup star Jordan Thompson has reflected on his head-spinning million-dollar pay day as he plots a comeback after a painful year on the tennis sidelines.
Wednesday marks the second anniversary of Thompson’s magical 2024 US Open campaign that yielded a maiden grand slam doubles crown and a second foray to the last 16 of the singles in New York.
Six weeks after squandering three match points in a gut-wrenching Wimbledon doubles finals defeat, Thompson and fellow Sydneysider Max Purcell atoned with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory over Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz.
Thompson and Purcell were the first all-Australian pairing to reign at Flushing Meadows since the legendary “Woodies” – Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge – in 1996.
In addition to etching his way in the history books, Thompson banked $1.04 million for his fortnight’s work, which included losing a four-set fourth-round singles encounter to Alex de Minaur.
Thompson earned $US325,000 ($A482,000) for his singles efforts and $US375,000 ($A562,500) for doubles.
It was not so long ago that players would pick up a cheque on the way out of a tournament, normally en route to a courtesy car to the airport.
Nowadays, players are paid electronically and Thompson can still remember vividly being in Asia when his motza dropped.
“To see seven figures go into your bank account is pretty surreal,” Thompson told AAP.
“I actually didn’t know much I was getting. I knew how much fourth round singles was, but I didn’t know how much doubles was. Maxi was all over it. He told me about it.
“Yeah, it ended up being a million dollars Aussie and I was copping a fair bit of crap from everyone back home, calling me the million-dollar-man and what-not.
“I was just a kid from Cherrybrook who went to school and played everything else and then I’m making a million bucks in a couple of weeks from tennis.”
The windfall was a far cry from 2017 when Thompson and de Minaur chose to drive all the way from Sydney to Melbourne for the Newcombe Medal awards night.
Incredibly, just 16 months later, one of those same mates branding the then-30-year-old ‘the million-dollar man’ also hit jackpot, with Thompson’s old Oak Hill College schoolmate Jordan Smith winning the inaugural Australian Open One-Point Slam.
“And I was hitting with him the night before,” Thompson recalled.
“I had Margaret Court (Arena) and we were trying to get a hitting partner and then I realised that he was down there and I said ‘what better practice would this be, come and have a hit with me’.
“He’s better than a hitting partner so I hit with him for two hours and then he got the stadium feel and went out there the next night and I was sitting in front row watching him play and he won one million bucks.
“Unbelievable.”
Having not played a singles match since the Australian Open in January, Thompson is trying everything to be back on court next summer after underdoing three separate elbow, toe and back surgeries in three months.
“People think I’ve retired. I’m only 32,” said the one-time world No.26 and only Australian other than de Minaur to make the second week in New York at least twice since the great Lleyton Hewitt more than a decade ago.
“I’m hopeful of getting back for the AO but my back is still struggling a bit just with the nerve regeneration.
“So it’s just a bit of a waiting game until I fully recover and can hit again.”
