Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Rising star Jordan Thompson (NSW) has been awarded a wildcard into Roland Garros, capping his stellar start to the 2016 season.

The 22-year-old was given the nod for the coveted entry pass by Tennis Australia selectors following an impressive stretch on tour, highlighted by his maiden ATP Challenger title in Cherbourg, France in February and a second title win in Anning, China in April.

In 12 months Thompson has climbed more than 160 places in the world rankings, moving from No.254 in May last year to now sit at world No.89.

Thompson will contest his first major outside of Australia in the French capital, set to get under way on Sunday 22 May.

Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt said Thompson was a deserving recipient of the men’s wildcard.

“Jordan’s a great young bloke with a tremendous work ethic. He’s had a really consistent year and it’s very pleasing to see him crack the top 100,” he said.

“He deserves the opportunity to compete at Roland Garros and on the back of some promising results over the past few months, I know he’ll put himself in a position to perform well.”

Fellow New South Welshman Matt Barton was today awarded a wildcard into the men’s qualifying draw.

The world No.257 will aim to secure entry to his first Roland Garros main draw two months after taking out the ITF Futures title in Calabasas, USA. Also this season Barton has qualified for the ATP event in Auckland (NZL), the ATP Challenger in Busan (KOR) and reached the semifinals of the ATP Challenger in Kyoto (JPN).

Barton spent much of 2015 sidelined by an ankle injury, with his rapid rankings improvement to almost within the Roland Garros qualifying cut-off testament to his effort since returning to the tour in October.

Qualifying for Roland Garros commences on Monday 16 April, with 128 players set to compete for 16 men’s qualifying berths into the main draw.

At least eight Australians will feature at Roland Garros this month, with [20] Nick Kyrgios (ACT), [22] Bernard Tomic (Qld), [62] John Millman (Qld), [97] Sam Groth (Vic), [22] Sam Stosur (Qld) and [32] Daria Gavrilova (Vic) set to join Thompson and the winner of the women’s wildcard play-off in the main draw.

Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.