In-form James Duckworth is through to the second round at an ATP 250 tournament in Bulgaria.
Sofia, Bulgaria, 30 September 2021 | Leigh Rogers
Sofia, Bulgaria
James Duckworth has continued his impressive form at an ATP 250 tournament in Sofia, scoring an opening-round win against Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori.
The 29-year-old Australian, who is currently ranked at a career-high world No.56 after reaching his first ATP-level final last week, posted a 3-6 6-4 6-4 victory against the world No.89.
It is Duckworth’s 14th win from his past 18 matches and sees him join fellow Aussies Alex de Minaur and John Millman in the second round.
Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith also scored a first-round doubles win, defeating Swede Andre Goransson and Monaco’s Hugo Nys in two tiebreak sets.
It propels the fourth-seeded duo into their third ATP-level quarterfinal as a team this season.
Aussies in action – Sofia
RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
James Duckworth (AUS) d Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) 3-6 6-4 6-4
Men’s doubles, first round
[4] Luke Saville (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) d Andre Goransson (SWE)/Hugo Nys (MON) 7-6(4) 7-6(2)
COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
[3] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Marcos Giron (USA)
[8] John Millman (AUS) v [Q] Illya Marchenko (UKR)
James Duckworth (AUS) v Benoit Paire (FRA)
Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[4] Luke Saville (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) v TBC
Chicago, USA
Maddison Inglis’ winning run is over at a WTA 500 tournament in Chicago – but the Australian qualifier tested world No.12 Belinda Bencic in their second-round match.
Olympic Games gold medallist Bencic needed three sets to defeat the world No.130, eventually prevailing 5-7 6-1 6-0.
It is the first time 23-year-old Inglis has won a set against a top 20-ranked opponent.
Anastasia Rodionova also lost in doubles action, leaving no Australians left in the tournament.
Aussies in action – Chicago
RESULTS
Women’s singles, second round
[3] Belinda Bencic (SUI) d [Q] Maddison Inglis (AUS) 5-7 6-1 6-0
Women’s doubles, first round
Makoto Ninomiya (JPN)/Sabrina Santamaria (USA) d Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)/Ingrid Neel (USA) 6-3 6-4
San Diego, USA
Three Australians are scheduled to compete at an ATP 250 tournament in San Diego today, including Alex Bolt in singles action.
The 28-year-old Bolt faces world No.12 Hubert Hurkacz in the opening round.
The world No.144 is in impressive form, defeating two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson in the final qualifying round.
However, so too is Hurkacz. The 24-year-old Poland claimed his third ATP singles title of the season in France last week.
John Peers, who is partnering Slovak Filip Polasek, and Jordan Thompson, playing with American Jackson Withrow, feature in first-round doubles matches.
Aussies in action – San Diego
COMING UP
Men’s singles, first round
[Q] Alex Bolt (AUS) v [5] Hubert Hurkacz (POL)
Men’s doubles, first round
[3] John Peers (AUS)/Filip Polasek (SVK) v Hubert Hurkacz (POL)/Marcelo Melo (BRA)
Jordan Thompson (AUS)/Jackson Withrow (USA) v [WC] Antonio Sancic (CRO)/Artem Sitak (NZL)