Wimbledon Welcomes the Horned Frogs

Three Frogs entered the main field of 128 men's singles players on Monday. Some favorite names that have come through David Roditi's programs had the chance to make a name for themselves on the biggest stage of them all.

So far, Cameron Norrie, the Horned Frog star from 2014 to 2017, has made the most noise of the three Horned Frogs in the singles draw. Norrie started his journey at The Championships against the Spaniard, Roberto Bautista Agut, on Day One.

Norrie bested Agut in four sets, taking the Spainard down in a final set by way of a tiebreak. Norrie's 13 aces and 4/7 break points won gave him the edge over Agut and boosted him into the second round of The Championships.

In his second round matchup, Norrie faced the twelfth ranked player in the world, Francis Tiafoe. On Court 1, Norrie felt the home-court advantage against the American. Tiafoe took the first set by a score of six games to four.

Norrie came storming back in the next three sets and won the final set by a score of seven games to five. Before the fourth set kicked off, Tiafoe took a rather lengthy break to use the restroom. Some accused him of trying to break Norrie's momentum. Either way, the Brit was not shaken and found a way to complete the upset.

TCU fans will be keeping a close eye on Norrie,, who hopes to continue his hot streak at The Championships in the third round. He will face off against Mattia Bellucci on Friday with Bellucci also coming off of a big straight-set victory over the No. 23 player in the world, Jiri Lehecka. If you are looking for some morning plans for the Fourth of July, look no further. Cam Norrie hopes to make TCU fans proud as he continues to battle for a Championship in the SW19.

The second Horned Frog in the field was none other than Jack Pinnington Jones, who was the No. 1 Singles player for the Frogs this past year. Pinnington found his way to the tournament by way of a runner-up finish in an ATP Challenger event in mid-June. In his round one bout, the Englishman met with Tomás Martín Etcheverry on Court 17.

In a hard-fought three-set sweep, Pinnington took down the Argentine and found a spot in the second round. The match, on the surface, seemed like a one-sided affair, but in reality, it was a battle. Both JPJ and Etcheverry matched each other with 11 aces. Etcheverry struggled on break point, only winning 1/8 points. Pinnington won three more service games than Etcheverry, which set the Englishman apart and led to his victory in the opening round.

On Thursday, JPJ took on the Italian Flavio Cobolli in the second round. Cobolli, ranked No. 22 in the world currently, proved to be just a little too much for the Horned Frog alum. The match on Court 18 lasted a mere three sets as Cobolli won in straight sets. Pinnington struggled to win points on his serve, only winning 8/14 service games in comparison to Cobolli's 12/13. Furthermore, Cobolli dominated with 38 winners in comparison to JPJ's 16 winners. Though Pinnington fell short this year at The Championships, this surely is not the last we will hear of the former line one singles player for the Frogs.

Jake Fearnley opened up his tournament at The Championships against the Brazilian Joao Fonesca. The two met on Court 1 on the first day of the tournament. The Horned Frog alum could not find his stride in London.

The Edinburgh native dropped the match in straight sets. Fearnley struggled with his serves all match. He lost the ace battle by a score of eleven to four. Furthermore, the former Horned Frog double faulted ten total times. Fearnley will be disappointed with his performance, but he will be ready to bounce back when the US Open rolls around in August.

The fourth Horned Frog in the field is Lui Maxted, who earned a doubles wild card spot. Maxted found his way to the SW19 by way of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). He was partnered with fellow Brit, Connor Thomson, who played his college tennis at the University of South Carolina. Thomson became the winningest tennis player in Gamecock tennis history when he surpassed 200 combined wins in singles and doubles during his fall season as a graduate student.

The young and promising duo had a tall mountain to climb in round one as they faced the eighth-ranked doubles team in the world, Nikola Mektić of Croatia and Michael Venus of New Zealand. The mountain proved to be a bit too tall for Maxted and Thomson, who fell in straight sets to the experienced duo of Mektić and Venus.

Both games, however, were tight as each had over ten games played in it. The second set went to a tie break and was eventually won by the Croatian and New Zealand duo by a score of 7-4. The Horned Frog and Gamecock will walk away with their heads high, as hanging around with Mektić and Venus is no small feat.

Maxted, the 2024-25 NCAA Doubles Champion, will surely find his way back into top-level competition very soon. The young Brit will be proud to have earned a spot at Wimbledon and will look to progress even further next year.

With the tournament in high gear now, Cam Norrie remains in the thick of the competition as he faces Mattia Belluici in the Third Round on Friday. A man full of confidence, Norrie will hope to continue his magic and progress into the Round of 16. Be sure to tune in and follow along Norrie's journey at The Championships; you may even spot a familiar face and a lot of purple on the broadcast!

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