A banner week for the University of San Diego men’s tennis program on the hallowed grass at Wimbledon got even better Thursday.
Former USD All-American August Holmgren earned the biggest victory of his career, upsetting world No. 23 Tomas Machac 7-6 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (10) in a match that took 4 hours and 37 minutes to complete.
“What in God’s name is going through my head right now?” Holmgren said to a Danish television station. “I’m so happy. I’m a little sad to cry on TV, but that’s how it is. It was really cool match.”
Indeed, Holmgren’s victory defines the word improbable.
Late in the fourth set with Machac leading 5-4, Holmgren was given a 5% chance of winning, according to Wimbledon’s official match tracker. But the 27-year-old Dane fought off three match points and rode 35 aces and 81 winners to advance to the third round, where he will face world No. 11 Alex de Minaur on Saturday.
Holmgren entered the tournament as world No. 192. He rallied from deficits in three qualifying matches just to make the main draw. He opened with a three-set first-round win over Quentin Hays on Tuesday.
Holmgren is now 9-4 on the ATP tour. Before that, he grinded it out on the preparatory ITF and Challenger circuits; he is a combined 100-73 there, with six tournament titles to his name.
He entered Thursday’s match with $217,000 in career earnings, singles and doubles combined. The win over Machac netted him $209,000 alone.
Incredibly, Holmgren isn’t the only Torero to shine at Wimbledon. Current USD star Oliver Tarvet also advanced to the main draw as a qualifier in his Grand Slam debut, pulled an upset in the first round and then had several impressive moments in a three-set loss to world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court on Wednesday.
The No. 733 ranked Tarvet said he plans on returning to USD for his senior season.
Both players raved about their experiences at USD, where coach Ryan Keckley has steadily built one of the best programs in the West.
“I think the most valuable thing I got from college was understanding that I need to have a balance with tennis and life off the court,” said Holmgren, who was a theater arts and performance major at USD. “To make sure I was happy off the court, because I need that in order to be happy on the court.”
#### Strike Force on a roll
The San Diego Strike Force are the hottest team in the Indoor Football League. The club has won five straight games heading into Monday’s 6:05 p.m. tilt against the Bay Area Panthers at Frontwave Arena.
With three games remaining in the regular season, the Strike Force (8-4) are second in the Western Division standings, just behind Bay Area (10-2).
#### Summer hoops
UC San Diego stars Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and Hayden Gray will begin their professional journeys in the NBA Summer League, which starts July 10 and runs through July 20.
Tait-Jones, the Big West Player of the Year, signed with the Toronto Raptors. Gray, a Santa Fe Christian graduate and the Big West’s Defensive Player of the Year, signed with the Boston Celtics.
‘• The Swish Pro-Am summer league, featuring several college and professional players with San Diego ties, continues Sunday at Lincoln High School. The four-game set begins at 12:30 p.m.; admission is free.
Originally Published: July 3, 2025 at 2:27 PM PDT