Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 25 September 2021 | Leigh Rogers
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
James Duckworth has continued his incredible winning run to advance to a first ATP singles final.
The 29-year-old Australian scored a 6-3 7-6(4) victory against Belarusian Ilya Ivashka in the semifinals at the ATP 250 tournament in Nur-Sultan.
Duckworth struck five aces and saved five of the six break points he faced in the two-hour and two-minute battle.
It extends the world No.65’s current winning streak to nine matches – and he has now won 13 of his past 16 matches.
Duckworth faces either world No.34 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan or world No.82 Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea in the final.
He is the third Australian to progress to an ATP-level singles final this season, following Alex de Minaur (Antalya in January, Eastbourne in June) and Alexei Popyrin (Singapore in February).
Aussies in action – Nur-Sultan
RESULTS
Men’s singles, semifinals
James Duckworth (AUS) d [8] Ilya Ivashka (BLR) 6-3 7-6(4)
COMING UP
Men’s singles, final
James Duckworth (AUS) v [2] Alexander Bublik (KAZ) or Soonwoo Kwon (KOR)