Two Australians – John Millman and James Duckworth – have progressed to the singles quarterfinals at an ATP 250 tournament in Bulgaria.
Sofia, Bulgaria, 1 October 2021 | Leigh Rogers
Sofia, Bulgaria
For the second consecutive week, John Millman and James Duckworth have both advanced to the quarterfinals at an ATP 250 tournament.
However this time, unlike last week in Nur-Sultan, they won’t have to play each other for a semifinal spot.
The eighth-seeded Millman scored a hard-fought 5-7 7-6(0) 6-3 victory against Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko in second-round action at Sofia.
It propels the 32-year-old Australian into this fourth ATP quarterfinal of the season, where he’ll face American Marcos Giron.
The No.67-ranked Giron eliminated third-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur in the second round, scoring a 7-6(5) 7-6(2) victory. It was the 28-year-old American’s second win against De Minaur in as many weeks, having also beaten him in Metz last week.
Meanwhile, Duckworth’s sensational season continues to deliver new highs.
The 29-year-old has reached back-to-back ATP quarterfinals for the first time in his career after posting a 6-4 6-4 win against France’s Benoit Paire.
“I got off to a little bit of a slow start there,” Duckworth said of his 75-minute victory. “Benoit was playing with a lot of variety, so I found it a bit difficult to find my range at the start. But then I was able to find my range a little bit and come through in the end.”
The world No.56, who has won 11 of his past 12 matches, faces top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals.
Their head-to-head record is tied at one-all. But Duckworth won their most recent meeting, defeating the world No.14 at Toronto in August.
Australian combination Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith have also progressed to the quarterfinals in the doubles competition.
Aussies in action – Sofia
RESULTS
Men’s singles, second round
[8] John Millman (AUS) d [Q] Illya Marchenko (UKR) 5-7 7-6(0) 6-3
James Duckworth (AUS) d Benoit Paire (FRA) 6-4 6-4
Marcos Giron (USA) d [3] Alex de Minaur (AUS) 7-6(5) 7-6(2)
COMING UP
Men’s singles, quarterfinals
[8] John Millman (AUS) v Marcos Giron (USA)
James Duckworth (AUS) v [1] Jannik Sinner (ITA)
Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[4] Luke Saville (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) v Jonny O’Mara (GBR)/Ken Skupski (GBR)
San Diego, USA
Australian Jordan Thompson features in doubles quarterfinal action later today at an ATP 250 tournament in San Diego.
Thompson and his American partner Jackson Withrow play fourth seeds Simone Bolelli of Italy and Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina.
John Peers and Slovak Filip Polasek have also progressed to the quarterfinals. The No.3 seeds, however, have to wait until tomorrow to face American duo Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
Aussies in action – San Diego
COMING UP
Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[3] John Peers (AUS)/Filip Polasek (SVK) v Taylor Fritz (USA)/Tommy Paul (USA)
Jordan Thompson (AUS)/Jackson Withrow (USA) v [4] Simone Bolelli (ITA)/Maximo Gonzalez (ARG)