Luke Saville’s mum, Judy, made her son a deal when she spoke to him from Australia on Thursday morning.
Unwittingly putting pressure on the 2011 Junior Wimbledon Champion, she had her eye on a flight to London should he pull through Qualifying at Roehampton for the second year running.
Trailing two sets and down a match point in the fourth against Italian No.5 seed Luca Vanni, it looked as though Judy’s trip to SW19 would be postponed a year.
Saville, though, had bigger plans, backing his superior fitness to tilt the ledger in his favour, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(7), 6-4.
“You know how much it means to me," Saville said afterwards. "Last year was my first time (qualifying). To do it back to back it gives me chills, especially from two sets to love down.
"I FaceTimed my mum this morning and she said if I win she’s going to come over. Probably wasn’t the smartest thing her telling me that. She said she’d already made rough flight bookings so I reckon she’ll be doing that right now even though it’s late back home.
I saved one match point last year as well, would you believe it...That's pretty scary
"This is going to be special. To get in the main draw to play at the All England Club again is a huge honour.”
It kickstarted a perfect afternoon for the Australian contingent with all three players in action securing main draw berths.
Soon after Saville’s comeback, world No.119 John Millman shrugged off an opening-set hiding to post a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Frenchman Enzo Couacaud.
Millman had earlier this year pushed eventual champion Roger Federer to a deciding set at his home event in Brisbane. This will mark his Wimbledon main draw debut.
World No.160 John-Patrick Smith then joined his countrymen with a convincing 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 win over Czech Jan Mertl. It is only the lefty’s second appearance in the main draw of a major, his first coming two and a half years ago in Melbourne.
For Saville, it marked the second year in a row he had saved a match point to win his final-round qualifying match at Roehampton. Last year, he denied Swiss Yan Marti and the memory was ingrained.
This was his first triumph from two sets down.
“I’ve got good memories of down here; similar celebrations. I actually threw my wristband over that fence when I won last year,” Saville said.
“I saved one match point last year as well, would you believe it, in the fourth-set tiebreak so that’s pretty scary. Similarities are pretty crazy. I’ve really been building this year. I’m just pumped to get into the main draw now; really confident right now."
The world No.182 had reached a grasscourt final at a Challenger event in Manchester only weeks ago, losing to countryman Sam Groth in the final.
But to end his grasscourt season at the final hurdle of Wimbledon qualifying was never part of the plan.
“I didn’t play well the first two sets but I actually beat him a couple of weeks so I always had self-belief today,” Saville said. “It was nice to not have to serve it out. … I don’t want to just make up the numbers now. I like grass. I play well at the All England Club.”
With girlfriend Daria Gavrilova due to contest a quarterfinal at the WTA Tour event at Eastbourne, Saville was concerned to hear she had withdrawn injured before taking the court.
“She pulled out? Hope she’s alright, that’s probably the main thing,” he said.
Earlier, the last remaining British hope was bundled out by Japan’s Yuichi Sugita in straight sets. Despite having a pair of set points in a first-set tiebreak, former British No.2 Dan Evans went down 7-6(6), 6-2, 7-5.
It marked the third time the Birmingham local had fallen in Wimbledon qualifying.
Rising Swedish teenager Elias Ymer upstaged the highest-ranked player remaining, No.3 seed Guido Pella 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 7-6(4) to qualify for his third straight Grand Slam main draw.
Of the seeded players remaining, Germans Dustin Brown and Michael Berrer, Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Argentine Horacio Zeballos also advanced.
