ATP Tour

World No. 192 Holmgren saves MPs AGAIN to extended Cinderella run at Wimbledon

August Holmgren has earned himself a new nickname: The King of Wimbledon Comebacks.

Before arriving in London, the Dane had never played in qualifying at SW19 nor had he competed in a major main draw. But with a series of stunning comebacks, the No. 192 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has reached the third round at Wimbledon for the Cinderella run of the tournament.

The former University of San Diego standout made his latest escape Thursday when he saved three match points en route to stunning 21st seed Tomas Machac 7-6(5), 6-7(8), 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(10-5) in the second round of the main draw.

Holmgren’s dream run appeared near an end when he trailed two sets to one and 4-5 in the fourth set. He faced three consecutive match points on his serve at 0/40, but dug out of trouble before ultimately battling past the Czech star in four hours and 38 minutes, making his triumph the second-longest match of the tournament behind Arthur Rinderknech’s victory against Alexander Zverev (four hours and 40 minutes).

Before Wimbledon, the only previous tour-level match Holmgren had played outside of Davis Cup came in 2021 in San Diego, where he won just two games against Grigor Dimitrov. Against Machac, he hit 81 winners, including 35 aces, to claim the biggest win of his career.

Holmgren rallied from a set and a break down in his first two qualifying matches, against Giles Hussey and Mikhail Kukushkin, respectively. He then saved three match points in the fourth set of his third-round qualifying clash against Yosuke Watanuki before advancing in a final-set tie-break.

The Grand Slam debutant took advantage of his qualifying escapes by defeating Quentin Halys, who made the third round in 2023 and 2024, in straight sets. Holmgren then saved three match points for the second time this tournament to outlast Machac and earn a showdown against 11th seed Alex de Minaur.