Michael Zheng, Oliver Tarvet and Mackenzie McDonald headlined the list of successful qualifiers for Wimbledon on Thursday in London.
Zheng and Tarvet, both of whom have qualified three times for the PIF ATP Next Gen Accelerator through their college performance (2024-2026), advanced through the final round of qualifying at the grass-court major.
Zheng ensured he maintained his 100 per cent success rate of qualifying for majors in 2026 by downing Colton Smith 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. The 22-year-old American won his first main-draw match at a major in January at the Australian Open, where he downed Sebastian Korda in five sets.
Meanwhile, Briton Tarvet returned to the Wimbledon main draw a year after he memorably took on Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court. The 22-year-old, who competed at the University of San Diego, defeated Stefanos Sakellaridis 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 to qualify for the second consecutive year.
The final round of qualifiers for the grass-court major was played out in sweltering heat on the lawns of Roehampton, but that did not stop former World No. 37 McDonald from powering to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 triumph against Christopher O’Connell. McDonald will now prepare for his seventh main-draw appearance at Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round in 2018 before falling to former finalist Milos Raonic.
Safiullin did not escape the Thursday heat quite so quickly. The former World No. 36 needed four hours and 46 minutes to overcome Jerome Kym 4-6, 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4. Safiullin saved a match point at 5/6 in the fourth-set tie-break before booking his fourth consecutive main-draw appearance at SW19.
Other final-round qualifying winners on Thursday included two-time ATP Tour champion Soonwoo Kwon, who sank Alejandro Moro Canas 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-3, and French lefty Hugo Gaston, who fended off Moez Echargui 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. There were also two other British successes alongside Tarvet: Billy Harris rallied past Zhou Yi 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-3, and World No. 331 Max Basing completed a successful first attempt at qualifying for a major by downing Remy Bertola 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
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